Into the Future
by Peya Luna
Summary: Sequel to 'Stand my Ground': Life goes on and everybody is busy making plans for their life after college, but most things just can t be planned, they simply come out of the blue to bite you in the ass. TxM, mpreg
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own BWoC, but I do own Stephen, Rock, Luke, Mary and Sam – not to mention some kick-ass readers who (hopefully) write great reviews!

This is the third part of my arc which started with 'Revelations in the Moonlight' and was continued in 'Stand my Ground'.

As promised, this first chapter goes to the person who guessed which old friend from the show will surface again….and the winner is:

**G-Wing Gurl! **

Yes, it's going to be Cerberus aka Sparky, the cute fire-barking ex-hellhound, though it will take a couple of chapters until he appears. And now on with the story: for starters, some nice Christmassy fluff…with a bite. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

As the first snow started to fall on this cold mid-December evening, Tommy was cuddling with his mate on the couch in the lair watching an old horror movie and sipping hot cocoa.

About two years had passed since Ariel and he was as happy as one could be.

Stephen and Lori were still happily mated as Sam and Mary were now too, as expected his vision had shown her and she had quickly learned to accept her beloved's new wolfish peculiarities.

Luke and Rock had their Lycanamora-visions only recently, and while Luke didn't seem to be in a hurry to find his significant other Tommy knew that Rock was looking forward to it.

Being the only single in their pack here in Pleasantville the quiet black sometimes felt a bit like the fifth wheel between the two loving couples and longed to experience the joy of having found one's other half himself.

Though it seemed as if he had to be patient for a little while longer, for his vision had clearly stated that his mate wasn't near yet but would be coming to him soon.

Rock could hardly await it.

Tommy truly wished him the best; since his transformation the other guy had become a real close friend - and an invaluable ally in keeping him and Merton safe from prying eyes.

He just had to think back to the day when he had overheard how the rest of the team cornered Rock in the locker room to grill him about the exact nature of the relationship between their captain and his pale buddy.

Not that they had been overly concerned if Tommy was gay or not – as long as his performance on the field earned them victory after victory they couldn't care less what he did in private – but wanted to know, as one put it eloquently "if we have to worry for our asses in the shower when Dawkins is around."

Rock, reluctant to lie but also unwilling to out his friends, had answered Solomonic: "If Tommy were really into guys and Merton his type, do you think that _you_ are in danger?"

That had them thinking, looking at each other they compared their tan, tall and heavily muscled frames to the scrawny little Goth that was Tommy's constant shadow. Finally one of them had stated "You're right dude, compared to us Dingle passes for a girl" the others had grunted in agreement, and that had been the end of the discussion.

Well, almost the end, for Merton had been far from happy when he heard which argument exactly had dispelled the footballer's concern for their behinds, and exclaimed scandalized "I'm _not_ a girl!"

Unfortunately he had been so flustered that his statement came out as a squeak which had only amused everyone further; especially Lori had been totally failing to choke her laughter.

Tommy himself had had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep a straight face while consoling his beloved, assuring him repeatedly that no; he didn't look like a girl, not even in his frilly dark burgundy silk shirt.

Shifting on the couch, Tommy still had to smile at this particular memory, however not everything in the past two years had been love, peace and harmony.

He had actually been forced to make good on his threat to spend Christmas away from home, much to his mom's shock.

But it had worked, though Sally was still far from happy with the situation she had at least rescind her initial declaration 'not to let that freak who had seduced her poor baby into her house ever again' and now settled for mostly ignoring Merton.

Tommy really hoped that given time she'll get used to the facts and change her former views at the sight of how happy Merton made him, for the brittle peace was grating on everyone's nerves.

This year however he wouldn't spend Christmas at home either, although not to punish his mom for her behaviour but because of his duties as the alpha of his pack.

On the upcoming solstice Rock, Sam and Luke would transform into their wolf form for the first time, and needless to say they needed his guidance in that important phase.

Since Tommy had no way to put Sam, Luke and Mary up they had decided to visit them earlier this year since Mary's and Luke's parental home was easily big enough to house them all and also on the verge of a large forest where their transformation would go unnoticed.

Everything was arranged, the train tickets for him, Merton, Lori, Steven and Rock were bought, now he only had to tell his family.

He wasn't looking forward to it, knowing his mom wouldn't understand his reasons and blow a gasket, for if there was one thing she ignored even more vehemently than his relationship to Merton it was the fact that her youngest son was a werewolf.

* * *

A few days later at the casa Dawkins, Tommy watched absentmindedly how his mom was buzzing around and tried to think of the best way to break the news to her.

Sally was completely in her element, pinning mistletoes over every door and wrapping thorn apple garlands around everything that wasn't moving while humming a Christmas carol.

"….now what do you think Tommy?"

"Huh…what?" Lost in his thoughts, Tommy hadn't even noticed that his mom was talking to him.

"I said; do we want to attend the afternoon mass or the midnight mass this year? I know, midnight mass has the better choir, but on the afternoon mass they always have the kid's nativity play…I still remember the year you were Josef, I was so proud of you…"

"I'm for midnight mass, that way I won't miss the TV-specials" interrupted Dean their mom's mushy speech before his brother would die from embarrassment. "Dad is of course for the afternoon mass, to boost his political image as family-oriented, and mom's undecided as always, so it's now up to you to, dear brother."

"I don't care which one since I won't be attending either, I…" Tommy swallowed, no time like the present, right? "I won't be here at Christmas this year, Merton and me are going to…."

At first Sally had been still smiling, her whole expression saying 'excuse me?', then his words hit home, her smile twisted into a scowl and she exploded. "Are you joking? Is that supposed to mean you rather spend Holy Night sinning with that lecher than with your family?!"

The last part was screeched so loud that Bob Dawkins heard her out in the garden where he had been wrapping chains of light around the trees and hedges, thus alarmed he rushed inside.

"Sally, honey, what is wrong?" He asked carefully, taken aback at his wife's appearance, red-faced and shaking with fury.

"Everything!!"

Well, that wasn't exactly an informative statement, so he looked over at his sons.

"Mom's mad because I've told her that I can't be here this Christmas." Tommy sighed; glad that at least his father was willing to hear him out.

"You see, the others will fully transform into a wolf for the first time, and they really need me to be there for them."

Bob swallowed, still more than a bit nervous whenever his son mentioned the w-word.

"Uh…Ok, but why does it have to be Christmas of all days?"

"It's not about Christmas; it's about the winter solstice, which is on the 21. December…"

Tommy patiently explained to his dad what was going to happen on that day and why he had to go to Mary, Luke and Sam instead of them coming here.

Bob listened closely and nodded, although he would never be able to understand the whole wolf-stuff or the dynamics inside of a pack, as mayor he could understand what it meant to bear responsibility for others.

Secretly he was actually proud of how serious his son took his duties, though it would be a snowy day in hell he would say that to his wife, especially when she looked as if she was about to hit the roof. Like now.

Tommy saw the tell-tale warning signs as well and decided to go before his mom could launch herself into yet another rant about 'that vile pervert who corrupted him' which would only lead to one more nasty argument.

Closing the garden gate behind him he heard faint shouting inside and sighed heavily, he hated to be the reason for his parents' arguments, knowing the whole situation put a heavy strain on their relationship, but also that there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

* * *

Another few days later it was Merton who was buzzing around while humming Christmas carols, though he wasn't decorating but packing his and Tommy's stuff for the upcoming trip.

His love and Rock were currently participating in what was officially the last training of the year - and unofficially the footballers Christmas party – but had promised not to stay too long, since they needed to get going tomorrow morning quite early.

Merton was all but vibrating with excitement; he could hardly wait to see the others in their wolf form. Knowing their colouring from when they were wolfed out he tried to picture them, idly wondering if Rock's above average body size as a human would show in his wolf form and make him an exceedingly large wolf as well.

Hearing the door open behind him he spoke while turning around.

"Hey Tommy, it's good that you're back, I wanted to ask you which shoes EEP!" Merton squeaked and dropped what he was carrying, for it wasn't Tommy who had entered but none other than Sally Dawkins.

He swallowed hard and prayed that Tommy would come home _very _soon, preferably before his mom would get over the surprise to find him and not her son.

So far, the woman was just silently staring, totally aghast, and Merton began to wonder, surely the sight of him alone couldn't be enough to send her into a gaping frenzy, so what…oh…oh dear.

Merton paled as realisation hit him, luckily this was the moment someone above took pity and answered his prayers.

Tommy noticed the tense atmosphere the very moment he opened the door, Merton's discomfort and near panic almost palpable.

He was really surprised to come upon his mom, for she hadn't set foot in this room since he moved in. That in combination with her distressed look gave him a chilling idea.

"Mom, did something happen? Are Dad and Dean ok?"

Completely ignoring his worried question, Sally uttered in a strange constrained voice "Since when?"

"Since when what, Mom?" Asked Tommy, confused and slowly but surely getting concerned at his mom's weird behaviour.

Sally slowly raised a shaking finger, pointing at the opposite wall.

Tommy frowned; ok so Merton's blood-red satin sheets looked totally out of place in a dorm room and yes they hadn't made their bed this morning…oh. He looked at his mom incredulously, she knew they were together, had been for years, did she honestly expect him and Merton to still sleep in separate beds?!

"If you mean to ask when did we the rearrange the furniture, about three years ago."

Sally was livid, screeching "So you and he screw every night?"

Tommy gritted his teeth, thoroughly fed up with her attitude. "Well I wouldn't say _every_ night; sometimes I'm just too tired from training, but basically, yes."

Sally was shocked speechless for a moment, gaping at his brutal honesty, but he didn't care anymore.

He was tired of pussyfooting around to spare his mother's feelings; time to take off the gloves and see if she could take as good as she was dishing out. Deep inside he could feel his wolf growling approvingly, eager to defend his mate against every form of attack and be it only a verbally one.

"Its worse enough that you're living in debauchery, but I had always thought that you have at least the decency to save appearances, instead I find this!" Sally exclaimed as soon as she had found her tongue.

"I came here, amicably, to try and talk sense into you not to desert your family over the holydays, but I see it's a lost case, you're obviously beyond hope." As soon as the last word had left her mouth Sally turned on her heel and stormed off, slamming the door behind her.

Tommy stood thunderstruck and Merton rushed to pull him into a comforting embrace, knowing fully well the dilemma of trouble with ones parents: no matter how much they hurt you and how strong you resent them for mistreating you, you still can't stop loving them, which only makes their words and deeds all the more painful.

* * *

They arrived at Mary's and Luke's hometown in the late afternoon, exhausted and weary from the long train ride. Sam was already waiting for them, giving all his friends a warm welcome.

Despite the not so small distance they all had managed to stay in close contact, visiting each other every semester break and their gatherings between the years were a well-loved tradition by now.

This year however would be the first time they would celebrate Christmas together since they had to antedate their annual visit because of the solstice.

Once at the house a beaming Mary hugged them all, ushering them inside to warm up in front of the fire while Luke and Sam took care of what little luggage they had for their short stay.

The Christmassy decoration, the smells of pine and cookies, stockings with their names hanging above a merrily crackling fireplace, everything was so welcoming and homelike, such a stark contrast to the ugly scenes that lately had transpired in his 'real' home, that Tommy found himself on the verge of tears.

"Tommy? Are you ok?" Merton looked a bit worried.

"Yes, I'm fine, just thinking…"

"Do you miss your home and your family very much?" whispered an equally concerned Stephen.

"No." Tommy smiled and hugged his mate close "Home is where the heart is, and you all are my second family, so I _am_ home."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: You know the drill, nothing belongs to me.

Thanks to my awesome reviewers: Amidalasky Snape, dragonmagik, G-Wing Gurl, ShadowWolfDagger, Charlio4444, Tommy´s 1fan, darknight25276, Sparta and Yuki Valons. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

Note: I seriously busted my butt to get this chapter up before the New Year, with all the Christmas stress…guess who got visited by all his annoying relatives over the holydays AGAIN? And got to cook for + clean after the lot? I swear if those lazy leeches come back next year, I spike their punch with laxatives!

* * *

Chapter 2

The next day Tommy found his patience wearing thin already before midday.

"For the last time: The transformation IS pain free, heck, the first time I didn't even realised it had happened before I saw my reflection in the water!" He took a deep breath, looking at the three who were all but vibrating with nervousness and thinking back to his own insecurities at that time.

"And you don't have to worry about giving over control to your wolf; he's not a feral beast waiting for an opportunity to run amok but a part of yourself. Remember how you met him not that long ago in your vision and you _know_ that you can trust him."

Three heads nodded warily and Tommy started hoping that he finally got it across to them.

He smiled and winked at them "Honestly guys, the worst is gonna be the cold in the short moment when you're already naked but before you grow fur." They chuckled, although still a bit nervously, but way more relaxed than before.

Contrary to the nervous newbies Tommy could hardly await nightfall. He still remembered the first full moon he spent with Stephen, how great it had been to finally have a pack brother beside him.

He had always loved to run under a glowing moon, but sharing the experience with someone was even better.

They had chased each other playfully through the moonlit woods, scaring up deer and rabbits, and nearly scared the living daylights out of some peeping Tom hiding in the bushes at lover's lane.

And tonight he would be running with a whole pack!

* * *

Darkness came early on that day and soon the longest night of the year began.

Standing outside Tommy looked up to see a nearly full moon rise. He turned around to the three nervous not-quite-human young men standing behind him in nothing but absurdly colourful terrycloth bathrobes.

"Are you ready?"

They gulped, shivering, whether from the cold or from nerves he couldn't tell, but nodded bravely.

"Ok, then follow me." He led them in the forest behind the house, knowing from previous visits that there was a large clearing not too far inside where they would be save from prying eyes.

Merton, Lori and Mary remained at the house with the strictest order to wait there until Stephen would come and get them, much to their chagrin.

Not that they were in any danger from the transforming werewolves, but Tommy figured that the three were already nervous enough as it was without spectators and that especially Luke and Sam would have a big problem changing in front of their sister respectively wife.

Stepping out of they twilight between the trees they were all but blinded, for the snow was reflecting the moonlight making the glade nearly as bright as day.

Stephen smiled at the three reassuringly and discarded the blanket in which he had wrapped himself. He and Tommy had discussed the course of this night extensively; as during their first transformation Stephen would go first to ease their nerves, while Tommy would remain human to talk them through their own.

Kneeling down the born werewolf quickly allowed his human mind to be carried away by the moonlight.

Stephen relished the change, welcoming the increasing presence of his inner wolf and last but not least the thick warm fur the transformation brought with it.

Turning around, now on all fours, he gave a happy bark as if to say 'See, it's completely harmless!'

"O.K. guys now it's your turn…take off your clothing and kneel down…just look at the moon, relax, and allow your instincts to guide you." Tommy spoke softly, growing quieter until he was merely whispering.

They stared unblinkingly at the bright moon overhead, like hypnotised, little clouds of breath in front of their faces.

Suddenly the moonlit parts of skin seemed to grow until their whole bodies appeared to be wrapped in moonlight. The glowing silhouettes shifted in one fluid motion and three wolves sat in the place where the three human had kneeled before.

A light breeze ruffling their fur alerted the three to their changed condition, seeing each other like this they reared back, the reddish-brown in the middle - Sam - actually yelped in surprise.

Tommy fought hard to suppress his chuckles "Told you so." Turning towards Stephen, who was excitedly sniffing his pack brothers while nearly wagging his tail off, he said: "Could you please fetch the others?"

The sandy-brown wolf gave a short bark and dashed off in direction of the house.

* * *

Lori was pacing incessantly, Mary was fidgeting on her chair while biting her nails with a vengeance and even Merton couldn't fully hide his restlessness, staring at the edge of the forest where the others had vanished.

Endless minutes ticked by, until "Finally!!" At Merton's shout Mary flinched so hart she nearly fell off her chair while Lori rushed to open the door.

At first Mary was scared of the large and quite feral looking animal stepping in out of the cold but as Lori happily embraced the beast she realised that this creature had to be _Stephen_.

She swallowed hard, of course she had heard the others talking about this and had seen her brother and Sam wolfed out many times, but somehow she had never truly believed that they would really turn into something completely nonhuman. Would she even be able to recognise her beloved ones?

Mary watched with mixed feelings how the wolf licked and nuzzled the blonde girl who bizarrely actually seemed to enjoy this and wondered if she could stomach the same.

Granted, she had never been repulsed by Sam's new animalistic body features, not even in the bedroom, because she had still been able to see her Sam underneath the fur, but _this_…good god, what if he wanted to mount her?!

They reached the clearing just as she was about to hit the panic button and all Mary could see were yet more wolves.

Merton immediately made a beeline for a silver-brown one who was noticeably bigger than the others, frighteningly so, no way this giant could have passed for a real wolf!

Nevertheless the Goth didn't hesitate but hugged and petted it, clearly anything but afraid.

'This got to be Tommy' she thought, desperately trying to keep a clear brain, and looked at the remaining three wolves. Thankfully those were smaller, like Stephen they were more akin to real wolves or large dogs. But who was who?

One had dark anthracite near black fur, with sheer yellow eyes; compared to the other two he was clearly more massive built, he somehow reminded her of Rock, the huge football player.

The other two had brown fur; one was a tad darker and had caramel coloured eyes with an impish twinkle in them, this could only be Luke, the old mischief-maker.

Finally Mary's eyes settled onto the last one who was in vain trying to hide behind the others, only timidly looking at her from the corner of his eyes…eyes that were the most stunning green she had ever seen. Sam.

Crouching down she extended her hand, beckoning him to come to her, somehow his fear and insecurity made her own worries seem petty.

As Mary cautiously petted him and was rewarded with a soft wagging of his tail she started to smile, although she was still a bit wary about this latest development she was sure that she and Sam would find a way to deal with it, together, like always.

What Mary hadn't noticed was that Tommy and Merton as well as Stephen had kept a keen eye on her reaction and were now heaving a collective sigh of relief.

Now that the hard part was over it was time to have some fun.

Padding a few feet away from his mate Tommy raised his head and gave a little howl to attract the attention of his pack.

They instantly came over to him, giving in to their wolfish instincts and licking under his chin submissively, which pleased the alpha wolf. Trusting his mate to guide the humans back to the house safely he led his betas deeper into the woods.

The five-member pack ran through the woods, dashing through the undergrowth and playfully chasing each other over glowing snowfields, their joyous howls startling animals for miles around.

It was obvious that Rocky, Sam and Luke liked their new form and took delight in running with the pack, which was Tommy's intention. He wanted them to be comfortable with their existence as werewolves as well as with being a part of his pack.

After a while he lead them back to the house, though him and Stephen could have easily carried on for hours he didn't want the newbies to overexert themselves the first time.

Once they had changed back they all sat down in front of the fireplace, enjoying a late-night snack and cocoa with a tiny dash of brandy.

Now that the apprehension was gone the whole atmosphere was much more relaxed, they laughed a lot and chatted about anything and everything.

Somehow they ended up talking about Stephens upcoming finals this spring and that he would be starting as a house physician at the Muhlenburg General come fall.

Which in itself was great and they were all rooting for him to pass, but also offered a major problem: Once he graduated Stephen had to move out of the student's dorm, and there simply existed no rooms for rent in Pleasantville.

Granted he could spent a few weeks at Lori's place, whose Mom doted on him and was over the moon that her daughter had hooked herself a doctor-to-be, but that couldn't be a permanent condition.

Stephen sighed "You know, this is one of the things I miss about living in Lycantria, one never had to worry about where to live…."

Seeing the curious faces around him he elaborated "Singles live in sexually segregated quarters pretty similar to your dorms, only that everyone has a room for himself.

Mated couples get two rooms, one bed- and one living room, more once they have kids.

The building of the mates is a huge five-storied monster with different wings for the ones who are newly-mated or have little children and the older ones who want their peace and quiet.

The buildings for the unmated are left respectively right beside it and have only two stories, you usually stop living with your parents and move there at the age of 15.

There are common bath rooms on each floor, and every building has a communal kitchen with a large dining area attached. Everyone has assigned duties, like cooking, cleaning or doing the laundry; I was usually the one to skin game and carve it, but sometimes I would help in the kitchens as well.

Detached houses are virtually non-existent, only royal family lives apart from the others in the palace, but they too are surrounded 24/7 by their guards who are living at the palace too, only on a different floor.

All in all we value the feeling of togetherness far higher than privacy." He shrugged "Must be a pack-thing."

Tommy nodded slowly "Yeah, I know what you mean, wolves simply aren't meant to live alone. In hindsight I realise how miserable I've been living on my own without all of you, and I've got to admit the thought that we might all go our separate ways after college scares me…"

Rock was the first to break the silence following Tommy's confession. "I don't want to part company either; to be honest I don't think I could even bear it…"

Blushing slightly he explained "Remember last summer when I was supposed to stay with my grandparents for the semester break?

Even surrounded by my family I felt so goddamn lonely, it was driving me crazy, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, all I wanted was to be home with you guys again. In the end I caved in and returned to Pleasantville after only two weeks."

He hung his head in shame. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think of me as a world-class wuss."

"There's no need to be ashamed, it's just our nature." Comforted Tommy his friend and Stephen nodded affirmatively.

Trust Lori to lighten up the mood. "Hmpf, okay, but if _we_ found some sort of werewolf-living-community I insist on private bathrooms. No offence guys, you know I love you all, but there's only one wolf who gets to see me naked - and whom I want to see in nothing but his fur." She grinned and gave her friends a cheeky wink.

The pent-up tension resolved into laughter and soon everybody started yawning, realising that it was high time to go to bed. No one bothered to think further about Lori's joking suggestion.

Except Merton.

* * *

On Christmas Eve Tommy called home to wish his family a Merry Christmas but only reached Dean.

Apparently his parents were right in the middle of another quarrel for he could hear them shouting in the background.

Sighing deeply he told Dean where he had hidden his presents for his family so that his brother could lay them under the tree for him.

* * *

Sitting in the midnight mass Sally Dawkins looked calm but on the inside she was steaming, remembering the latest argument with her husband.

Bob had put his foot down and demanded that she once and for all ceased her hostilities towards Merton Dingle, accusing her of driving their son out of his home with her behaviour.

The nerve! Couldn't he see that their son needed help? The poor boy was clearly delusional, what with all his talk of werewolves and him being gay.

Sally sighed, it seemed as if she would have to find a way to rescue her poor baby without Bob supporting her as a good husband and father should.

Not that this would stop her.

She would get Tommy to realize the truth and then things would return to the way they had been before this pale freak came into their life and filled her sons head with those weird ideas.

The day after Christmas she made a call to an old friend.

* * *

What is Sally up to? And how will Tommy react once he uncovers her scheme to terminate his relationship with Merton? Find out in my next chapter! But first: review please!

And a Happy New Year you all!!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: You know the drill; nothing belongs to me – big surprise here.

Thanks to my gorgeous reviewers: littlemissgoodie2shoes(me) *wow, I guess that's the longest pen-name I've ever seen* Thanks dear!

G-Wing Gurl: I agree, but Tommy is one of the good guys and would never beat his mom – no matter how much his paws are itching to do so occasionally.

ShaddowWolfDagger: I'm already looking forward to that movie myself ;-) As for your wilful misspelling…so that ffnet won't censor it?

Nittyismyname: Thank you so much!! I was already wondering if people even notice/get my little jokes…kinda hard to make puns in a foreign language.

Sparta: Don't worry about Merton; he's got one big overprotective wolf to watch over him!

And now, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 3

New Year in the lair had started with a little sensation as none other than Sally Dawkins called to wish both Tommy _and_ Merton a Happy New Year and to invite him over to a little dinner party she was giving a few days later when an old college friend of hers passing through would visit.

Knowing his mother as good as he did Tommy figured the dinner-invitation was a mere pretext to break the ice and apologise so he was more than happy to accept, even if that meant to spend an evening listening to his mom and her sorority buddy wax sentimental about their good old days as gamma-epsilons.

Merton wouldn't mind to spend an evening alone either, he was already busily preparing for the beginning of the term next week, no wonder the teachers were loving him so much and his marks were through the roof.

Thus Tommy found himself a few days later standing in front of his parent's house in his best clothes and prepared for an extremely boring evening.

Little did he know that this evening would be everything but uneventful.

* * *

At first everything was just like he had expected it, nostalgic stories and wistful sighs, he had been only mildly surprised to see that his mom's former bosom buddy was divorced and had brought her daughter instead of her ex-husband along.

That said girl, 'Susanne but you can call me Suzie' wore a rather skimpy dress and started flirting with him right away wasn't that surprising either, he knew he was good-looking and was rather used to it.

Even as his mom couldn't stop asking the girl questions from her future plans up to quite personal stuff like if she currently had a boyfriend didn't set up the red flags, he brushed it off as his mother's overly curious nature, plus he was asked just as many questions in return from her old pal.

What was really bothering him was that Suzie's flirting was steadily getting pushier as the evening progressed, it was already past the point of embarrassing and quickly heading towards nasty.

To make matters worse his dad was away on some conference and Dean stuck to the TV as always, so there was no one to detract her attention from him while their mom's were happily chattering away.

When Suzie leaned forward for the umpteenth time to shove her ample cleavage under his nose and even went so far as to put a hand on his thigh Tommy excused himself to the kitchen under the pretence to get more coffee.

Damn, he needed to get out of there before he forgot his good manners and told this little slut where to get off!

Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths he tried to calm down, infinitely grateful that the evening was nearly over, he would only have to suffer through dessert than he could go home to his beloved Merton.

Tommy heard the kitchen door open behind him and nearly groaned, knowing who had followed him even before he turned around thanks to the sickly sweet perfume Suzie had all but drenched herself with.

He didn't pay attention to her lame excuse as to why she had come after him as she strut in with even more buttons opened on her blouse than before, showing without a doubt that she wore no bra.

She sashayed nearer with was she probably deemed to be a seductive smile and suddenly, before he could stop her she basically jumped him. Clutching him tightly with both arms Suzie pressed her sticky lip-gloss glazed mouth against his.

Tommy froze, desperately focusing on not wolfing out.

Taking his lack of resistance as permission to go further she let her hands roam over his body, giving a lustful moan at his perfect abs.

However as her hand wandered below his belt and tried to give his privates a good squeeze Tommy pushed her off and stormed out of the kitchen, thankfully Suzie was too busy to regain her balance and not fall on her butt to notice that his eyes were flashing yellow.

Tommy fought to keep his composure and went to return to the dining room, determined to somehow excuse himself and leave prematurely, polite upbringing be damned!

As he neared the door he could hear his mother and her friend talking, the divorcee just saying "You were right Sally, the boy really seems to be awfully shy."

Tommy frowned briefly at her strange comment and entered the room.

As he emerged with a flushed face and slightly deranged clothing both women simultaneously started to smile and cast each other not-so-inconspicuous knowing looks.

Tommy felt his hackles rise as he finally realised what was going on.

Before he could react to this revelation Suzie came back, looking extremely smugly. Sally beamed at her. "Suzie, honey, why don't you tell us something more about yourself….your mom tells me you like animals, especially dogs?"

Suzie squealed in delight and launched herself into an enthusiastic non-stop monologue about her Chihuahua 'Petey'.

When she told them how much she loved it when cute little 'Petey' slept in her bed with her and his mom inquired "So you don't mind fur between the sheets?" while casting him a significant look, Tommy felt sick – and furious.

"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute in private?"

He appeared to be smiling, but Sally, who knew him better than the other two onlookers noticed that there were more teeth visible than usual in her sons smile – and that those teeth somehow seemed sharper.

With a slight frown she followed him into the kitchen.

The moment the door was closed behind them Tommy exploded. "I can't believe it! Here I am thinking that you want to apologise for your previous misbehaviour, instead you try to hook me up with that bitch!"

"I don't see your problem; Suzie is a nice, beautiful girl, I'm sure if you would only give her a chance you two would get along just fine!"

"Mom, stop it!" He glared at his mother. "When will you finally get it into your thick skull that I'm _not_ single? I'm spoken for, and that's final!!"

Sally remained unperturbed by his outburst "Honestly, why don't you go out with her, just once, I'm sure you'll like her better than your little fu…"

"Don't you _dare_ to continue" Tommy growled dangerously low, further enraged by her insults, and tried another tactic. "Would _you_ date someone beside dad 'to see if you like them better'?"

Sally jerked back as if slapped, completely scandalized "Of course not, I'm married!"

"And I'm mated!" roared Tommy, furious at her wilful ignorance, how could his mother _still_ refuse to acknowledge his bond with Merton?

Sally heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Tommy, dear, can't you understand that every mother only wants the best for her child? You deserve so much _more_, someone who…"

Tommy stopped listening; he was disgusted, how could his mom even compare his wonderful mate to that hussy, let alone deem her better?!

"…why Tommy, every girl out there would be happy to have you!" Sally exclaimed enthusiastically, taking his lack of objection as a positive sign that she had filtered down to him at last.

However her broad smile faltered as she took in her son's expression, though she was glad to see that his previous fury was gone, he now radiated an eerie calmness which chilled her to the bone. "Tommy, what…?"

But he only shook his head, sorrow but also acceptance shining in his eyes. "It's useless. Good buy."

Without another word he turned around and left, leaving a bewildered Sally Dawkins behind who was speechless at the strange finality of his words.

* * *

The moment his beloved entered the lair Merton knew that something must have gone terribly wrong at that dinner party, Tommy's inner turmoil betrayed by the yellow fire burning in his eyes.

Inwardly he was cursing Sally Dawkins to hell and back, what did she do to this time to put him into such an agitated state?

Merton rose to meet him halfway and was immediately pulled into a bone crushing embrace, Tommy clinging to him almost desperately.

He started trailing little kisses all over his face "Need you."

Merton reacted to his lover's plea by kissing him deeply, and Tommy began steering them backwards in the direction of the bed.

A little eternity later they fell onto the mattress and had to break the kiss for air, a dazed Merton noticing that he had somehow lost all his clothes on the way and so had Tommy; it never ceased to amaze him how his beloved managed to do this without even breaking their kiss.

The werewolf loomed above his mate, looking down at him with eyes full of love and adoration and let his hands roam all over the silken skin.

As he slowly kissed, licked and nibbled his way from collarbone downwards the blazing yellow in his eyes turned into a soft glow and he began growling in contentedness.

When the Goth moved to return the caresses he was gently but firm held in place, understanding the silent message he immediately let his body go slack, allowing the wolf to seek further comfort in his taste and scent.

Merton recognised the behaviour pattern; someone had threatened their bond and now the wolf needed the reassurance that his mate was still his, so he simply lay back and let him do as he liked.

The wolf was very pleased by his mate's submissive behaviour; to him, by relinquishing control to him completely, his mate showed him his unwavering trust and loyalty, his love, and that was exactly what he needed right now.

He happily continued to kiss and lick his mate, covering him in his scent in this way as another way of marking him, and enjoyed the increasing sounds of pleasure coming from his beloved.

By now, Merton was beyond coherent with lust, clutching the covers in a dead grip and praying that the sinful tongue rasping along his inner thigh would move just a bit higher to where he was already throbbing instead of ignoring his cock and moving steadily south.

At long last he was turned around just to receive the same delicious torture again, only this time from his ankles upwards; by the time Tommy finally slid a slick finger inside him and began preparing him he was all but sobbing with need.

Merton was in a sensual frenzy, their lovemaking was leisurely this time but no less passionate. Gentle nibbling on his neck, slow but deep thrusts, whispered words of love, it warmed him to the core of his heart.

Afterwards as they had recovered their breath Tommy eventually told Merton what had happened.

The Goth was disgusted that Sally had basically sicced that slut onto her son as well as aghast that she was willing to go to these lengths to separate them.

And deep inside, he was feeling utterly helpless because he couldn't do a thing to stop her from harming his beloved further.

Strangely though Tommy himself didn't seem angry or enraged, he was perfectly calm.

Absently stroking Merton's shoulder he said "I've come to a decision today. This has to end, one way or another. She won't do this to us anymore."

Pulling his mate even closer into his embrace he continued "I'm tired of making explanations that she doesn't listen to anyway, on the next full moon I'm gonna _show_ my mother exactly _what_ I am. Then she can decide once and for all to either accept me like I am, including my choice of life mate, or loose me for good."

Despite the calm voice, and though he didn't doubt for one second that Tommy would follow through with his plan no matter how the outcome would be, Merton knew that it hadn't been an easy decision to make for his beloved. He could clearly feel his lover's secret fear of loosing a part of his family in the way he was clinging to him almost desperately.

Knowing that there was nothing he could do to allay Tommy's fears he simply cuddled up to him until they were completely entwined, whispered "I love you" and kissed him good night.

* * *

On the other side of Pleasantville another werewolf was still awake too, though worrying about an entirely different matter.

Sighing deeply Rock was staring at the slightly waning moon while subconsciously clutching a golden capsule hanging around his neck. It was the same capsule that once held Stephens´ and now contained Rocks vision.

Not that he needed to wear the capsule to check up his vision; its words were imprinted on his memory anyway.

**Your angel will come flown to you soon**

**Out of the east**

**On the day of the New Moon**

The others had advised him not to wrack his brains about the possible meaning behind the words, seeing as none of them could make sense of their vision until they were standing in front of their mate either, but he couldn't help it.

One new moon had already passed, and nothing had happened.

Yes, he admitted that he was getting desperate, but honestly, who could blame him?

Dating as a werewolf had proven to be a nightmare; just _trying_ to kiss someone set his teeth on edge and made his eyes glow.

Hence he had stopped dating and focussed on his studies instead; hungering for the day he would receive his vision and thereby find the one person that was meant for him.

For the truth was, even surrounded by his friends and pack mates, he was feeling very lonely.

So he would spend the next new moon as well armed with a compass and looking for anything angel-like.

Rock sighed again, probably the only werewolf who was eagerly awaiting a moonless night.

Oh well, at least this time he wouldn't be distracted by Christmas-Angels hanging everywhere.

* * *

Will Rock find his future mate on the next new moon or will he have to wait a while longer?

How will Sally react to Tommy's ultimatum – and what will Bob say once he gets to know of her latest escapade? Stay tuned – and review please! It's what keeps me typing late at night.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Why do I have say it again and again? Me don't own a thing! Basta!

A Big thanks to all my great reviewers:

ShadowWolfDagger: Don't worry honey, Karma got the baseball bat out and is just getting started ;-)

Spanderfan: I'm glad you like this+the previous parts…and don´t worry, the problems for/with Sally aren´t over, as promised Dean will continue to pop up and play a bigger role. You actually get some insight into Bob´s thoughts in this chapter, Merton's parents most likely will only appear on the sidelines but I might let Becky have a say, though only much later in the story.

G-Wing Gurl: I'm so agreeing with you…and Merton will add his own little rant about comparing a werewolf with a Chihuahua. As for Rock, he does meet someone, but will that be his mate? I'm not telling…though if you look really close you might find a clue ;-)

Metallic-Silver-Ink: Glad that you like it, though I fear you'll have to be patient a little longer; Rock will still be single by the end of this chapter…but don't worry, not for long.

littlemissgooddy2shoes(me): Thanks! You´ll soon get a look in Bob´s mind.

liliecoer: Bonjour! I´m glad to read that you like Lori+that I kept her around although she was kinda evil in my first story…but only a bit and doesn't everyone deserves a second chance? And as for Rock, I've got to tell you the same as the others: patience!

Sparta: Don´t we all?

Animenut18: Thanks!

Warning: Some stupid clichés and derogative language against foreigners. Please note that I'm by no means a racist, I merely needed some assholes for my storyline to work.

Chapter 4

In the days following the dinner-party disaster Sally tried to call Tommy a billion times, left messages for him with pretty much everyone he knew and even on Merton's mailbox.

Tommy was surprised that she even remembered the Goth's number, sure he had given it to her but she had never used it before.

He took her frantic attempts to reach him as a good sign, maybe it had finally dawned on her that she had gone too far…or maybe she just wanted to poor oil on troubled water before his dad returned form his conference and got wind of her latest stunt.

It didn't really matter for he ignored all her calls, messages and notes anyway, but he secretly called Dean and told him to make sure that both Sally and Bob would be at home on the next full moon night.

* * *

Rock was in very low spirits as he slowly made his way across the campus and looked at the setting sun.

Another new moon day was nearly over, and nothing had happened. To say that he was frustrated would have been an understatement.

He had been on his feet the whole day, walking around all the places were people his age would hang out in hopes of finding the one girl that stood out, all the while keeping his eyes peeled for something that would fit his vision.

Deep inside he was beginning to wonder if maybe he was barking up the wrong tree looking for a girl, granted he had never been attracted to guys but neither was Tommy before he mated Merton, and everyone could see how happy they were with each other.

Nevertheless he was hoping for a girl, it wasn't that he was homophobic, far from it; he just couldn't _see_ himself with another guy.

Lost in his thoughts he continued his way to meet up with Lori who had suggested they paint the town red to lift his mood.

It would be just the two of them, since Stephen was most likely busy studying for his finals, Tommy was occupied helping their old coach training the high school kids and Merton was brooding over some blueprints and generally doing things he couldn't even begin to comprehend.

As he turned a corner he saw a few guys clustered together around something on the other side of the building, recognising one of them as Bret Michaels, a notorious troublemaker, he decided to better take a look at what they were doing.

Coming nearer he could understand what they were saying and realised it wasn't something but some_one_ they had circled.

"So what's a jap like you doing here in our beautiful country, trying to convert us all to rice eating? Fuck off gook!"

"Oh I don't know Bret" said another one and leered at the girl "she looks mighty tasty for a spring roll…why don't you spring into my bed and show me if jap-girls really are such sluts as everyone says?"

"Great idea, how about we all have a go with her - though we better watch out and use condoms, we don't want to catch jap-germs." They all howled in laughter and Rock gritted his teeth against the growl that wanted to come out, if there was one sort of people he genuinely despised it were racists.

"How about you thick-headed bastards leave her alone and get lost?"

They all whirled around at this, though their angry expressions quickly made way to wary if not scared looks as they saw who had spoken, their arrogance vanishing like ice in the sun facing the huge and clearly pissed football player.

Only Bret remained stubborn. "If my buddies and I want to have some fun with the nip-chick it's none of your business!"

Rock stepped right in front of Bret; crossing his arms in front of his broad chest and glaring down at the idiot he stated "I'm making it my business."

Bret swallowed nervously, with almost six feet he wasn't exactly the smallest around, but compared to the near seven feet living brick wall made of nothing but bulging muscles standing in front of him he looked – and felt – awfully undersized.

So he backed down, though not without tossing one last comment over his shoulder about this not being over in a poor attempt to save his face once he was out of Rocks reach.

As soon as the morons where out of sight Rock visibly relaxed and took for the first time a good look at the girl he had stood up for.

She was indeed Asian, with almond-shaped eyes and pale skin, fine-boned and really small, even a few inches shorter than Merton.

Somehow she reminded him of a fragile porcelain-doll, like the little ballerina one on top of his mother's musical clock that went round in circles to the melody. Next to him, she looked downright tiny….and at the moment, rather scared. 'No surprise' he thought, and smiled at the frightened girl.

"Hey, sorry about those dimwits, sadly each small town has a few of those, but I promise the rest of the people here is ok….you're one of the new exchange students, right?"

She nodded cautiously but continued to eye him warily.

"Look, I was about to fetch a friend from the girls dorm anyway, so why don't we go there together? You know, just in case Bret and his goons are lurking in the shadows…oh, and I am Rock."

For a moment, he could have sworn something like recognition flashed in her eyes, but brushed it of as his eyes playing tricks on him. Anyway, something that he said must have done the trick for she returned his smile, though still timidly, and replied "My name is Shao."

Rock insisted on carrying her trunks for her and by the time they reached the girls dorm he already knew that she was studying to become a translator. When he asked for her room number he was surprised to learn that Shao was actually going to share a room with none other than Lori Baxter.

Climbing the stairs he said "What a remarkable coincidence, Lori was actually the one I wanted to meet with; we were going to spend a night in town…hey, why don't you come along?"

Shao shifted nervously "Thank you for the offer, but I don't want to intrude into your date…"

To her surprise, Rock chuckled "There's nothing to intrude into, we're just good friends, in fact she's basically engaged with my friend Steven."

"Oh…in that case I'll gladly accompany you and Lori."

As they neared Lori's room Rock's steps faltered for his sharp wolfish ears had picked up certain sounds coming out of the blonde's room, however before he could do or say something a particular loud moan along with a high-pitched "Steviee!" alerted Shao to what was going on as well.

"Uhm…how about we drop your luggage with the dorm custodian for now and make that trip through the town alone?" tried Rock to remedy the awkward situation.

The furiously blushing Shao only nodded.

* * *

At the end of the evening Rock was feeling quite light-hearted again, thanks to Shao. The girl had thawed very quickly and turned out to be really nice; she even shared the future botanist's love for plants.

When he finally fell asleep that night he did so with a content little smile, though he hadn't found his mate today, he had definitely made a new friend.

* * *

On the other side of town someone other was far from being contend let alone able to fall asleep.

Bob Dawkins was pacing incessantly in his study, it has been two weeks since he's been away on that conference and his son hadn't visited his home once, he hadn't even called.

He wasn't stupid; he knew that could mean only one thing: his wife had had another argument with Tommy about his relationship with Merton Dingle, despite his stern demand to leave the boys alone.

Still, this total lack of communication was alarming, never before had Tommy reacted that badly after a verbal duel with his mother, so he couldn't help but wonder what his wife had done to cause this. And he wondered if Sally was even aware that she was slowly but surely jeopardizing their marriage with her actions. Granted he had always known that she was from a conservative home, but he had never taken her for such an incorrigible homophobe.

Sure, he too had been shocked at first and yes he would have preferred to have a daughter-in law and grandkids, but Tommy was happy and that was what was most important, wasn't it?

And this Merton fellow wasn't even half-bad once you got to know him, quite the opposite actually. Bob had found himself growing fond of the boy rather quickly, who defeated him at chess so easily it was downright embarrassing and always excused himself profusely afterwards.

Talking to him he had almost immediately noticed that under all his gothic-rebel attire Merton was very intelligent and deep-read, from his son he knew that he spoke fluent Latin and had even been awarded a scholarship for a renowned university in Europe, but had quickly returned to Pleasantville because he missed Tommy too much.

All in all he was a fine young man who didn't deserve his wife's hate and contempt, which was why he could understand Tommy's anger at his mother's impossible behaviour.

Bob snorted angrily; he wouldn't stand beside and watch how Sally's antics estranged their son more and more, he had already gotten his first bitter taste of it when he had to hear through the grapevine that Tommy was now helping old coach Henley training the high school football team twice a week.

Keeping the surprise from showing on his face as he was congratulated to having a son who rather volunteered his time than to party and get plastered like most college kids had been hard, and only strengthen his resolve: he would make his wife see reason. His son wouldn't become a stranger.

* * *

It was Friday night, full moon, d-day for Tommy who stood in front of his parent's house for the first time in nearly four weeks.

He was glad for the calming presence of Merton who stood beside him for he didn't want tonight turn into yet another shouting match with his mom, no, tonight would see the end of this nonsense.

Taking one last deep breath he raised his hand and knocked.

It was Bob who opened the door, he didn't bother to hide how pleasantly surprised he was to see them, though deep inside he was sad to notice that his son had found it necessary to knock like a visitor instead of just barging in like usual.

"Tommy, Merton, what a nice surprise! Come in boys... is there anything special that brings you here tonight?" he asked, indicating the bright full moon shining down on them, for even with what little he knew about werewolves and full moon nights he could tell that this wasn't a social visit.

"Yes, there is, I actually came over to talk with you and mom…I take it that she didn't tell you what happened?"

"No, not really, but I figured that you had another argument…." Bob frowned, seeing how his wife tensed up and instantly went on guard the moment they entered the living room.

Sally gave a false smile and stuttered "T-Tommy! How nice to see you…"

Tommy merely looked at her "Do you want to tell dad what happened on that dinner-party or shall I?"

The fake smile vanished as Sally instantly bristled at this "I have no idea what you're talking about, I merely wanted to show you that you have alternatives – and going by the way you looked when you and Suzie came out of the kitchen again you two had plenty of fun!" she ended triumphantly, giving Merton a sidelong sneer.

"Fun, that's what you call it? The last time I checked groping someone against their will was considered sexual harassment." dead-panned Tommy.

Turning to his dad he explained "You see, apparently mom had told her old friend's daughter that I was 'awfully shy' and that she needed to take the initiative, and boy she did indeed! I barely managed to remove the slut bodily before she could shove her hand down my pants."

Bob was appalled, but before he could say a word Sally butted in "Oh, come on, don't be such a puritan! Suzie is a nice, beautiful girl from a good family…and it was hard enough to find someone who might put up with your perverted delusions."

The mayor was visibly irritated, what the hell was his wife talking about?

Tommy only gave a bitter smile "I guess you're driving at the fact that Suzie lets her Chihuahua-whelp sleep in her bed." He shook his head with an almost pitiful expression while Merton beside him couldn't hold back a disbelieving snort.

Did Sally honestly believe that just because that girl had a dog she could handle a full-grown werewolf?! That woman was obviously completely clueless!

"I'm neither a puppy nor a lapdog and definitely not delusional, what I am though is thoroughly fed up with you denying the facts, which is why tonight I'm going to _show_ you exactly _what_ I am."

Seeing the near manic expression of his wife, Bob Dawkins realised how vehemently Sally refused to accept the truth that she rather wanted to believe that her son was a lunatic with a fur-kink than gay and a werewolf.

He genuinely wished he could get her professional help - and prayed that she wouldn't snap when whatever Tommy was planning gave her a harsh wake-up call.

Without another word Tommy quickly stripped down naked, much to his family's bewilderment and went out into the garden, motioning them to follow him. Once outside he disappeared behind a large bush, while Sally started to berate him about the risk of being seen by the neighbours like this.

Seconds later she stopped in mid-rant as a large silver-brown wolf came forth from behind the bush and jumped onto the garden table in one fluid motion.

Her face turned ashen, her mouth opened and closed several times with no sound coming out and if not for her husband holding her upright she would have collapsed then and there.

Bob himself was looking rather pale and had to fight hard against the urge to flee at the sight of the huge carnivore, could this really be his son?

He watched in disbelief as Merton walked over to the beast, perfectly calm and even with a smile on his face, and began petting it.

Instead of attacking the Goth as Bob had partly feared the wolf happily leaned into the caress, wagged its tail and even nuzzled the boy.

Dean, who had taken the backseat so far because he didn't want to interfere in his brother's plan, was the first to regain his composure enough to speak. Turning to Merton he asked, though a bit incredulously "Is that really Tommy?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

The older brother swallowed nervously but stepped up to the wolf. "Tommy? Is that really you bro?"

The wolf gave a short bark and made a step in his direction, still wagging his tail, so Dean plucked up his courage and hesitantly ruffled the wolf's fur.

The animal held still and even seemed to enjoy the attention, only when he reached its rips did it twitch and jerk away – just like Tommy always did, for he was terribly ticklish in that area. Before Dean knew it a rough tongue swept behind his ears where _he_ was awfully ticklish, a fact that very few people knew of, including Tommy of course.

Laughing out loud he exclaimed "It _is_ you!"

At this, Sally who had overcome her shock, screamed enraged "How dare you to mock me like this, do you really think I'm that stupid to fall for such a cheap trick? Dean, go away from that animal before you catch some fleas or worse, and Tommy, you better come out from behind that bush, the show is over!!"

For a moment, everyone just stared at her.

Then, the wolf gave an almost human sigh and transformed back into his humanoid half-form.

Sally let out a strangled gasp before she started to scream like a banshee; luckily Bob reacted fast and silenced her by putting a hand over her mouth before someone would call the cops at the alarming noise.

Despite her struggles he didn't look at his wife because he was too mesmerized at the sight of his son.

It was the first time he saw Tommy like this, so far he had only witnessed the occasional yellow flash in his eyes or fingernails that became a bit too sharp and pointed to be normal, but now…pointed ears, clawed hands, furred feet that really looked more like paws and oh god, even a tail!

Bob swallowed hard, although he in difference to his wife had always believed his son, seeing it now with his own eyes was a big shock nonetheless.

Before, everything Tommy had told him about his pack and running on all fours and defeating monsters had always sounded a bit like a fairytale, now it became frighteningly real. He was torn between two emotions; pride, for how his son had managed to cope with and even master this curse; and fear, because of all the dangers he had put himself into to protect those around him.

Eventually Sally stopped screaming and ceased her struggles, Tommy hoped that it was a sign that she was calming down and not just because she was getting tired.

"As you can see with your own eyes, everything I've told you is true. I am both wolf and human, and even if you can see only my human side most of the time the wolf is ever-present." Tommy explained as calm as possible, but his voice sounded scary to those not used it nonetheless. It was deeper than his human voice, with a slight growl in it and one could clearly see his wolfish fangs as he talked.

"We are one, and we need someone who loves and accepts both of us, and not someone who merely 'puts up' with one of us. And we're extremely happy to have found someone who does." He gave Merton a loving look that was returned in kind, before turning to his mother.

"Like every werewolf I take only one mate for life, it's a sacred bond that only death can separate - which is why it's a complete waste of time to try and break us up or hook me up with another. I know that you think you're helping me, but you're wrong. All you do is hurting me, and I won't have it any longer."

He looked straight at Sally, pinning her under his sharp yellow gaze. "You've got to choose mom, either you stop torpedoing our relationship _and_ accept that mated equals married – or you're gonna loose me."

Sally gave a wail, knowing her son good enough to see that he was dead serious.

Seeing his mom like that with tears leaking from her eyes wasn't easy for Tommy but it also gave him hope that he had finally managed to filter down to her.

A faint howl in the distance made him smile "You hear that? My pack is calling for me… I've got to go now."

Though before he transformed back and went to join the others Tommy gave Merton a deep kiss, fangs and all. "Don't bother waiting up for me, just leave a window open. Love you."

"Love you too..." whispered Merton as he watched how the large silver-brown wolf padded through the garden and leaped over the fence gracefully.

"Are you satisfied now? He's putting you above his family…you must be feeling _really great_ now." Sally sniffed, glaring at Merton through her tears, her defensive attitude firmly in place.

"But I'll tell you this won't be the last word, the day will come he'll abandon you and ruefully return to his family. Tommy is still my son and I know him better than you ever will!"

Merton sighed, he had so hoped Sally had finally understood, but apparently he would have to spell it out for her, for Tommy's sake. "You really don't get it, do you? The Tommy today is the human he once was _plus_ the wolf, in one body. And as for family, I too am his family…actually, as far as the wolf is concerned, I'm his only family, and I will be until the day I die."

Seeing her glare become what could only be called murderous he hurried to add "Don't even think about it. If you should ever so much as try to attack me with more than words even the fact that you're the mother of his human side won't protect you from the wolfs rage. Ask Lori, she can tell you a thing or two about it."

Sally gave a skewed smile "I bet you would like that, hu? Seeing me get hurt…you detest me just as much as I detest you, admit it!" she yelled.

He didn't even try to deny it. "How could I not? But in difference to you I have a very good reason for it; you constantly hurt the one person who means the world to me." Giving her a glare of his own the Goth for once was the one loosing his temper.

"You have absolutely no idea what your behaviour does to Tommy, how much you hurt him…_you _don't see him break down crying after each of your arguments, _I_ am the one who holds him and comforts him and generally tries to pick up the pieces after your little stunts!"

Sally was taken aback at how deeply he was affected by her quarrels with Tommy. She had been expecting smugness, now she was stunned to see tears in the young mans eyes.

As she watched how he said a hurried good-buy and went home she thought that maybe, just maybe she really should talk to that Lori Baxter and get to know more about the life her son had led these past couple of years.

* * *

Will Sally talk to Lori, and will that help her to finally see that she's been wrong all along? Is Shao only going to be a new friend, and why is Merton studying blueprints?! Find out in my next chapter! But first: Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Same old, same old.

As always, thanks to my awesome reviewers:

animenut18: Here's your update…as for baby wolves, I fear you'll have to wait a bit longer. Can't knock a guy up while he's still on college aka seen by people - even in Pleasantville folks aren't _that_ blind.

ShadowWolfDagger: O.O! I never knew that bit about Merton's dad although I watched every episode like three times – then a gain a lot gets eaten by synchronisation. I hope you won't mind if I ignore this information for in my mind I've already decided on a different job for him to work with my plotline.

moonellen: Well, Sally doesn't get beaten up literally, but she's sure in for a rough time!

yukiko: I'm glad you like it!

dragonmagik: Thanks! And welcome on my alert-list.

GrilledCheeseOrios: Well, there's no point arguing the facts, but I think for a non-native speaker who very nearly failed in English I'm not half bad.

Chapter 5

Saturday night found the whole pack at the factory, even Steven had taken the evening off from learning to relax. He was currently dancing with Lori while Tommy was listening with half an ear to Merton gushing over some new vampire flick.

His main focus however was on Rock who was playing what appeared to be an impromptu version of pick-a-stick with pretzel sticks with their newest friend Shao.

After her most unpleasant encounter with the town-bullies he had taken the young woman under his wing, and her shy but friendly nature quickly made her a part of their group.

Tommy appreciated especially how she always managed to cheer Rock up, it seemed as if he all but forgot about his single status when she was around which was a good thing now in particular given the upcoming Valentine's Day with heart-decorations and courting couples everywhere.

Tommy had already feared the worst for his friend's frame of mind if he didn't find his mate until then.

Lori retuned from the dance floor, slightly out of breath, whilst Stephen made a bee-line to the bar to fetch them something to drink, a short eye contact had him ordering a couple of root-beers for Tommy and Merton too.

Earlier that evening he had informed his pack about how the talk with his parents had gone and warned Lori that his mother might contact her.

Poor Merton, having to explain everything to Sally all over again, though he was kind of proud of his mate for standing up to her like that, it spoke volumes about the Goths slowly growing self-confidence.

A lifetime of insults and talking down from everyone around him, even his own parents, had near destroyed Merton's trust in himself.

It was this insecurity that often made him appear cowardly, very few realised that deep inside he had a backbone of steel and was braver than most.

However due to Tommy's unwavering love and the constant support and friendship of their pack his confidence was growing bit by bit, now Sally had been one of the first to see this new side of him.

* * *

While Rock joined Steven at the bar to fetch them some new drinks as well Shao nibbled on a pretzel stick and mustered her new friends: a gentle doctor-to-be dating a martial-arts fan, two handsome football player and Goth with a severe case of verbal diarrhoea.

You've got to hand it to them, they were an odd group indeed, yet they were the best friends Shao ever had and she wouldn't trade them for the world.

Not because pretty much every girl on campus would _murder_ for a chance to get so close to the two hottest singles in town – though she got to admit she did feel a suspicious flutter in her stomach lately whenever the calm, friendly black was around – but because they accepted her without pestering her about her past or her family background.

In return she didn't probe into their business, although she could all but feel the secrets lurking beneath the surface, such as where they all had disappeared to last night for example. But Shao's own history had given her a keen sense of privacy and a thorough dislike for people putting their nose in others personal business.

Rock's return put an end to her musings, with a smile he handed Shao her cherry beverage, a marvellous drink Lori had introduced her to which she had come to love very quickly.

As she felt herself blushing at his smile Shao made up her mind.

She would dare and take her chance.

The very next day she would go and buy the chocolate.

* * *

A few days later Lori was asked to coffee by Sally Dawkins, knowing what the topic of their conversation would be the blonde suggested they rather meet in private than in a cafe.

Thus she now found herself sitting in the Dawkin´s living room facing a rather fidgety Sally.

After several minutes of awkward Smalltalk Lori had enough and packed the bull by the horns.

Never one to mince words she stated "So you've called me to talk about what happens if one attacks someone who's mated to a werewolf?"

A clank from the kitchen confirmed her suspicion that either Dean or Bob, perhaps even both, were listening in. Sally was too stunned to answer but Lori continued nonetheless.

"Well, the first thing you've got to understand is that all werewolves are instinctively very caring and protective of their mates, especially if they're human aka far weaker and more vulnerable than them.

This instinct is even more amplified when the werewolf is a strong alpha like Tommy who's responsible to protect and care for a whole pack, it's innately for him to care for those he regards as his pack and keep them safe, and of course Merton as his mate is at the top of that list."

She took a sip from her coffee. "As for what happens when someone hurts their mates, well that partly depends on who it is and if it was intentional, mostly though on how severe the injury is.

I for example was a good friend, who merely knocked Merton out and that more or less accidentally. That's why I live to tell the tale and got away with just a few scars, whereas Ariel was killed."

Sally's coffee cup hit the carpet with a soft thud as it fell from her shacking hands, causing Lori to look up. The mother of Tommy was ghostly pale and looked in general as if on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Good. Maybe they were finally getting somewhere.

In Lori's opinion, Tommy had indulged to her for far too long and it was high time to end this.

Ignoring Sally's state she removed her silk scarf, pointing at her neck "See these little crescent-shaped scars? That's where Tommy's claws dug into my throat as he pinned me to the wall and told me exactly what he would do to me if I ever dared to harm his mate again."

Lori shivered at the memory "I was so scared I nearly wet myself…trust me, an enraged alpha is something you don't want to encounter _ever_."

"B-but…I thought you were friends!" stammered Sally, staring horrified at the claw marks on the blonde's throat.

"We _are_ friends" answered Lori irritated "I consider myself happy that Tommy forgave me."

"HE forgave YOU?!" exclaimed Sally.

"Sure…I merely got what I deserved, a just punishment for my stupidity." Lori clarified, for she didn't want Tommy's mother to get a wrong picture.

Sally was at a loss, this young woman in front of her sported scars of what she freely admitted was a most frightening experience, yet she only blamed herself and not the one who gave her the scars, accepted it even as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

She shook her head; this was way too much to deal with right now, so she quickly changed the topic.

"What does 'mated' mean anyway? I mean, you can't impossibly equal this…thing with a marriage!"

"True" answered Lori, and Sally relaxed, until the blonde continued "A mating is way more serious that a marriage."

"WHAT?! How can you compare something so animalistic, so non-human, to sacred vows before god and man?"

"And how often do those 'sacred vows' get broken?" countered Lori sarcastically and shook her head.

"Adultery and divorce have become everyday occurrences, committed without raising an eyebrow let alone causing feelings of shame and guilt. Wedding bands get discarded just as easily as wives and kids, but _this_ is genuine!!" she yelled, yanking her collar aside and showing her mating mark.

Sally was speechless; all her arguments lost in the face of the bitterness of an abandoned child of divorced parents whose father ran up and away and now lived god-knows-where with his new family.

What was more, deep inside she had to admit that Lori had a point there.

"Granted, Steven and I will marry once he's done with university, but that's merely for the people. As far as we're concerned we're already bound to each other by something that makes petty human vows pale in comparison."

Sally's head was spinning so much she barely heard Lori's last comment.

Could it be…she had always been resolved not to become a 'monster-in-law', to accept whichever girls her sons wanted to spend their life with. But if Tommy and the others who were like him took this mating-thing really _that_ serious…oh god.

She was acting just as bad as Bob's mother had as she got to know that her son planned to marry a simple nurse who didn't have a college degree!

That Sally only had to leave medical school because she couldn't effort the tuition fees but had to support her family after her father's sudden death never mattered to one Virginia Dawkins, she had treated her like an annoying hick until the day she died.

And now she was acting just as bad…she hadn't even bothered to get to know this young man her son spent so much time with…just as she hadn't bothered to pay attention to Tommy for several years, how else could she have missed that his whole life had been changing that radically?

She was a bad mother, one that neglected her child… sure he always had enough money, new clothes and a play station, what more could a boy his age ask for…'_someone who loves and accepts_ _me' _...echoed Tommy's voice from a few days prior in her mind.

Hot tears full of shame started to run down her face as Sally fully realised what she had done.

She neither noticed Lori excusing herself and leaving nor Bob coming in from the kitchen and pulling her into a comforting hug. As she sobbed into her husband's chest, all she could think of was how much her stupidity had hurt her beloved son.

* * *

On Valentine's Day the pack was surprised as each receive little packages decorated with handwritten Japanese characters from their Asian friend.

As Shao quickly explained to them it was custom in her country to give chocolate rather than Valentine's cards to one's friends. Then, she made a hurried bee-line for the library for she had an important test tomorrow which sadly meant she had to learn and couldn't go to the Valentine's-Day party at the factory with them.

However, as the group met at the lair before going to the party and compared their gifts they noticed interesting differences.

Two of the four truffles in each box were their respective favourite flavour, ok so cherry for Lori was a no-brainer as was vanilla for Merton, but where did Shao know that Steven loved nougat and Tommy caramel?

The other two though were even more surprising, somehow she had managed to find an exotic flavour they had never tried before but liked instantly, like chilli for Lori and ginger for Merton. Apparently Shao was very observant and had figured them out quite well.

As they still marvelled at this, Rock arrived belated and brought with him an even bigger surprise. His package was decorated not only with his name in kanji but also a beautiful drawing of a snow-covered mountain - according to Merton it was the Fuji – and was thrice as big as the others.

Lori, who was bursting with curiosity, basically demanded that he better open his box right now or he would suffer the consequences. Knowing the blonde as he did Rock didn't dare to object.

Inside where twelve dark chocolate truffles which smelled of cognac and orange, or rather as Rock informed them, of a French liqueur called 'Cointreau' - which he knew because his mom was French, and because it was his favourite - and Merton recognised what the little red pieces on each where: candied rose petals.

After a moment of shocked silence Lori spoke out what everyone was thinking. "Well, it seems as if Shao wants to tell you something."

Rock nodded numbly "What am I supposed to do now? I like her, I really do, she's an amazing girl but…how can I get involved with Shao when I'm technically still looking for my mate? I don't want to hurt her…" His troubled musings were interrupted by a cry of astonishment from Merton.

"Look! The signature! Under the drawing of the Fuji!"

"Yes I know; she must have done it herself." Answered Rock, slightly irritated as to what the Goth was so excited about.

"You mean that's _her_ name, Shao´s last name is _Tenshi _? Are you positive about that?"

"Uh..yeah?" By now, everyone was staring at Merton who dashed over to his pc and started typing frantically. Half a minute later he squealed delighted and cut a capper "I _knew_ it!!"

He started pacing, talking to himself and totally ignoring the others and their confused looks. "Honestly, I can't believe how blind I've been, it's so glaring obvious that its downright embarrassing that I didn't realised it sooner, I mean…"

"I should have known that the third cup of coffee was too much for him, he just can't handle that much caffeine…" stage-whispered Tommy.

Unsurprisingly it was Lori whose patience snapped first. "Merton! I swear if you don't stop rambling and tell us what this is all about right now I…I…I'll paint your hearse girly pink! With glitter!!"

The Goth visibly blanched at the threat and gulped. "Well, it's actually quite simple…" He turned to Rock "Do you remember when exactly you met Shao for the first time?"

However before he had a chance to answer, Merton beat him to it. "On the day of the _new moon _! She's from Japan, also known as the Far _East_, and unless she swam here I would say she came by plane aka _flying._"

Merton beamed as he saw that the others were starting to get his drift. "And last but not least: _Tenshi_ is the Japanese word for _angel _!" He ended, grinning like a Cheshire cat who just got the cream.

Rock was stunned, to put it mildly. Now it all made sense…why he'd instantly been so protective of her and liked her right away, more importantly why the near frantic urge to search for his mate had dwindled to the point it was virtually non-existent: his inner wolf had already recognised her as its mate.

As he realized this, a genuine smile dawned upon his face. "Shao…my little angel."

Rock felt like bursting at the seams with sheer happiness, but then it hit him: would Shao still want him when she got to know that he was a werewolf?

* * *

Will Shao be able to handle the fact that her crush is a werewolf? And what conclusions will Sally draw from her realization? All that and more in my next chapter! But first: Review please! It feeds my muse and makes me type faster.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Same old…yawn.

Thanks to my uber-fantastic reviewers: GrilledCheeseOreos, ShadowWolfDagger, moonellen, muses let loose, G-Wing Gurl and Damej. You guys+gals make my day with your comments!

Alright folks, in this chapter you'll get some family background information on Shao and Rock, I hope you'll like what I cooked up…the bits about Japanese culture+traditions are mostly from wikipedia, so sue them if I got something wrong ;-)

Aside from that, prepare yourself for a roller-coaster of emotions, Merton will drop a 'tiny' bomb, and about Sparky, have a bit more patience, he will appear in the next chapter.

And now, on with the story!

Chapter 6

Walking through the park beside Shao on this sunny spring day Rock once again blessed Merton for being the geek he was.

The Goth had happily informed him about the exact meaning of Shao´s gift in the tradition of the Japanese Valentine's Day, and most importantly, of the appropriate way to answer. Apparently just returning sweets equalled a rebuff, whereas if you wanted more than friendship too you were supposed to give something white along with the chocolate.

The big question that remained though was how serious exactly Shao took the tradition, after all the part with the white gift was a remnant of the long custom to present one's chosen a white kimono – a wedding dress – which equalled an engagement.

Needless to say he'd been incredibly relieved to hear that he had four weeks until White Day to gauge how serious she was, and to get to know her better. Not that he had any doubts about Shao being the one for him, but he dreaded telling her about his secret double life and hoped that until then he would find a way to break the news gently to her.

Right now though he was concentrating on part one of his plan: getting to know her better, hence them being alone for once without any of the pack around.

Since 'getting to know each other' ran both ways he started with telling her about his family, how his dad had joined the army right after high school and eventually got based in French where he met a lovely florist, whom he married although his family wasn't exactly thrilled that he had chosen a foreigner.

At that point, Rock noticed how a shadow fell across Shao´s face. He wondered why, was it because she feared that she, being a foreigner too, would get rejected by his family just like his mom – or was there a similar story in her family? Come to think of it, her eyes were remarkably little slitted for a pure Japanese...

He ended with his father's death in a stupid car accident due to a drunk driver when Rock himself had been about twelve and how his mom carried on their little flower shop with adjoined nursery alone since then.

"I still miss him sometimes." he confessed slightly embarrassed.

"I never knew my father" stated Shao quietly "He died before I was born."

She took a deep breath "In a way, my parents were the epitome of star-crossed lovers…him a secretary and translator at the British embassy and her being a Geisha…" here she hurried to profess that the western clichés had it all wrong, Geisha's were _not_ prostitutes, they merely flirted with their clients while making polite Smalltalk, sang and danced for them and generally made sure everyone had a good time.

"While it's not thought of as an indecent profession, it's considered an unfitting job for a married woman, hence all Geisha's are unwed, but not necessarily celibate. Its perfectly ok for them to take a lover, most quit once they have made enough money to start in a business, open a small shop, something like that, and _then_ they can marry and have kids."

Shao sighed deeply. "My father was often translating for British businessmen, and one evening when they were going to celebrate their latest deal with a big Japanese corporation he was asked to come along as well. The Japanese businessmen had engaged the services of several Geisha's, including my mom, to make sure everybody would enjoy themselves."

She smiled softly "It was love at first sight. Needless to say, their relationship raised more than a few eyebrows; to his friends and co-workers she was little better than a whore, and she was snubbed from hers for starting something with a non-Japanese.

But they didn't care. Less than half a year after they first met they were already making plans to marry, he'd asked for a transfer and planed to take her with him to escape their ill-disposed environment.

The day my mom was told that she was pregnant some idiot run amok at the embassy. One of the ricochets hit my father in the chest." Tears started to form in her eyes "He had no chance….he died without even knowing that he was going to be a daddy…

Against everyone's expectations, my mom didn't get an abortion but quit her profession.

She never loved another man again and raised me completely alone while taking on every job she could find, from waitress to scrubwoman, to keep us afloat.

She was always so strong, never listened to the snide remarks whispered behind her back; nothing could ever bring her down…until she got cancer. That was the one fight she didn't win, despite chemo and radiotherapy she died last fall. Right after I applied for the student's exchange because I really needed a change of surroundings, and because I needed time to figure out what to do, now that I'm all alone…"

At this point, Shao couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Rock held her tight as she sobbed and told about what it meant to grow up as a mixed-blood child born out of wedlock.

He was aghast, how could someone treat such a gentle girl so badly? It eerily reminded him of how Merton's life had been before befriending Tommy, and he was shocked to realise that him and the pack were probably the first real friends Shao had ever made.

"You're not alone anymore; you've got me…and the others too." Rock exclaimed impulsively.

He know he must sound crazy, they only knew each other for about three weeks, yet he couldn't help it, he felt the overwhelming urge to protect her and keep her safe from harm, be it bodily or emotionally.

Suddenly he could hardly wait for White Day to come, to give Shao something tangible to assure her of his promise that she'll never be alone again.

During the next weeks Rock and Shao grew pretty much inseparable, spending whatever time their studies left them together. Sometimes the others joined them though more often than not they were left alone.

Secretly, the whole pack was watching the progress in their relationship and was delighted at how close they were getting. They were all wishing them both the best, and Lori was helping Rock in finding a good gift for White Day.

While they had both agreed on jewellery, the blonde convinced him that a ring would be too much too soon; he didn't want to scare her away after all. Besides, as a student he was perpetually short of cash and couldn't afford a decent engagement ring anyway.

It would be hard enough to find something he had enough money for since silver was out of question and he was forced to opt for gold.

In the meantime Tommy had turned on his charm to get Merton into Pleasantville's land register, though he had no idea what exactly his mate was researching there, but that was nothing new.

Truth to be told, even when Merton told him about his projects he usually didn't understand what he was talking about half of the time.

So he wasn't overly concerned to see his beloved buried in blueprints and old documents detailing restricting clauses, he knew if it had something to do with a new threat Merton would inform them in time.

A few days before White Day, and already on the verge of desperation, Rock finally found his gift by sheer accident.

He'd been helping his mom with their stall on a local country fair over in Muhlenburg when he spotted a neighbouring stall offering beautiful carvings, and among the wooden sculptures a small amount of jewellery carved from mammoth ivory.

Rock silently blessed the artist for using white gold instead of silver, scratched up all his money and bought the one piece that seemed to be made just for Shao, ignoring the curious look his mom gave him at seeing her son buy something that could only be meant for a girl.

He was already busy thinking of how and where to present her with his gift, somewhere romantic but not overly so, and most important where they would be undisturbed and without unwanted spectators. Thinking back of when Shao had told him about the cherry blossom festivals in her homeland, he suddenly knew the perfect place.

To say Shao was nervous would have been an understatement; she was a bundle of nerves. It was White Day, and Rock had suggested they had a picnic on this beautiful spring day.

Did this invitation mean what she was hoping for? Was he even aware of the custom, or was it a mere coincidence that his invitation came today? Granted, they had been getting closer these past weeks and had confided very private matters to one another, but he had never once tried to kiss her or to move beyond friendly contact in any other way.

They were currently driving in Merton's hearse along a gravel path leading through a patch of forest on the outskirts of Pleasantville, a hamper in the backseat of the borrowed car.

Shao didn't know where they were going but she didn't really care, she was way too busy to try and calm her pounding heart, besides she trusted Rock.

After a few minutes the trees gave way and she saw a huge, somewhat abandoned looking house, it looked a bit like something out of a scary movie.

Rock saw her questioning glance and grinned "That old stone house is Pleasantville's version of a haunted house, very popular on Halloween, though nothing scary ever happened here. It's merely unoccupied ever since its owner, Mr. Morrison, died years ago without heirs, and the town seems unable to find a buyer. However, what I want to show you lies on the other side."

They got out of the car and he actually made her close her eyes, carefully leading her around the house, until "Ok, now you can open your eyes."

Shao gasped, finding herself standing in a sunlit glade full of wild flowers and there, in front of her were several cherry trees in full bloom. "I can't believe that you've remembered…it's wonderfully beautiful!"

She laughed delighted and took a few steps between the trees, turning around herself, almost as if she was dancing. Rocks breath caught in his throat at the sight 'nowhere near as beautiful as you'. Shao turned around, blushing madly, and he realised that he'd actually said that out loud.

He cleared his throat and quickly started spreading their blanket "I'm glad that you like it here….now, how about we start with our picnic, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Shao agreed, silently glad to be able to sit down for his comment had turned her knees to jelly. Maybe this day was going the way she had hoped for after all.

They spent the next hour eating, chatting and laughing, until, after the last sandwich had vanished, Rock asked if she wanted something sweet for after.

Noticing how nervous he was all of a sudden Shao immediately realized that his question wasn't really about dessert. Swallowing nervously she could only nod; this was it, the critical moment had come, she was about to receive her answer, just plain chocolate, or….

Shao all but felt her heart breaking as she saw the chocolate box he produced from the basket. She lowered her head to hide the tears that sprang into her eyes.

"Um…don't you want to open your gift?"

With shaking fingers she lifted the lid, and there, among the chocolate shimmered something white.

Rapidly blinking she cleared her tear-blurred vision and caught sight of a pair of wings, each barely an inch long but carved so detailed that one could make out each feather. As she tried to pick them up she realised that it actually were a pair of earrings.

"Do you like it?"

Shao looked up from her scrutiny and at a still very nervous Rock who fidgeted under her gaze "I thought it would fit, wings for an angel, you know? But if you don't…" Whatever he was about to say was lost as Shao practically lunged at him.

"They're perfect." she whispered with a choking voice, starting to tremble in his arms as the reality that Rock _did _want her hit home fully.

Rock was in heaven; his angel was in his arms, he could feel her soft breasts against his chest, separated only by two thin layers of cotton and her sweet scent surrounding him filled his inner wolf with uttermost satisfaction. Without thinking he bent down and kissed her.

It was pure bliss; Shao was returning his kiss and pressing even closer, his wolf was howling in happiness at last instead of growling displeased so he didn't had to worry about growing fur or claws.

As they eventually had to part again they were both panting heavily, Rock supine on the blanket with her being sprawled over him.

Looking up into her flushed face Rock wished nothing more than to pull her down for round two, but he knew that there was one more matter that they needed to sort out. After all, he didn't bring her to such a quiet place just so that they could to make out unobserved, but also because they needed to have a serious talk.

Rock could only pray that Shao would still look at him like this, with eyes full of love, and not with fear after she got to know the truth about him.

"I truly love you and want to be you, but there's one last thing you need to know about me, and if you decide that you can't be with me after I told you I'll understand."

He swallowed hard, noticing how worried and confused she was looking now and took one last deep breath. Bracing himself for the worst he said "I know it must sound crazy, but…I'm a werewolf."

Shao´s eyes grew impossibly wide, though she didn't jerk away but stayed in his arms. Taking this as a good sign Rock began his long story of how a normal small-town college student like him became a supernatural being.

Back in Pleasantville the rest of the pack had gathered inside the lair.

Of course they all knew that Rock planed to tell Shao the truth today and were anxiously awaiting the outcome while keeping their fingers crossed.

Would the girl be able to accept their friend, or would she run for the hills – and maybe even sic the authorities on them?

"…I don't go around biting people; essentially I'm still the same guy I was before just with an increased appetite for meat and getting furry sometimes."

Shao blinked, completely stunned. No wonder he had been so nervous about telling her…thinking about it, he'd been taking quite a risk letting her in on his big secret.

No, not his secret, _their_ secret, for even if Rock hadn't told her the names of his pack-mates it wasn't that hard to guess who they were, one only had to look at how close they all were – and how they too all had vanished on full moon.

Somehow, knowing that Rock trusted her that much made her feel all warm inside and helped Shao to get over the initial shock.

"Show me."

Rock swallowed, he didn't need to ask what she meant; it was obvious. Praying once again that she wouldn't freak he called forth his inner wolf.

Shao watched in wonder how his eyes began to glow yellow as fur sprouted on his face and hands which were sporting claws now. She knew that she probably should be scared but all she could think about was if his fur would be as soft to the touch as it looked.

Rock couldn't believe his luck as his wonderful little angel didn't react scared at all but raised her hand and started stroking his cheek, unable to help himself he closed his eyes and snuggled into her hand. Damn, that felt _good_….soft giggles roused him from his blissful state.

Looking up he realised what had sent Shao into giggling fits, she had spotted his tail which was wagging happily. He groaned in embarrassment and tried to stop his unruly appendage but Shao said "Don't, I think it's cute."

Seeing her smile for the first time since he started telling her about his true nature raised his hopes for a happy ending for this day, but never in his wildest dreams had he dared to hope for what came next. Shao leaned in and kissed him, fangs and all!

But just as things started to heat up once more she already broke the kiss again. "I'm not scared of you, though I can't really understand why myself. Somehow I'm more fascinated and curious, and I gotta warn you, I'll probably start pelting you with questions as soon as I've got used to the fact that I now know a real-life 'mythical creature'." Rock grinned since he could all but hear the quotes.

"However, there is one thing that I know for sure, and that is that I love you and want to be with you…which is why there's only one thing that I'm truly worrying about right now."

Shao sighed deeply before saying the last thing an anxious Rock expected "My study permit is only valid until the end of April."

Driving back to Pleasantville Rock was still so agitated that he could barely stop his eyes from glowing.

At first, the mere thought that he could loose his sweet little angel due to some bureaucratic nonsense had petrified him, but then he knew what to do, or rather were to go: the lair.

Partly because he hoped that Merton, being the allsmart that he was would knew a loophole, partly because his inner wolf demanded that he sought the guidance of his alpha, but also because he simply needed the support from his friends and pack mates right now.

As Rock entered the lair with Shao by his side the others cheered, happy that their friend obviously had been accepted by his girl, but then they noticed the worry on their faces.

A short explanation later everyone was in deep thought, trying to find a solution, until Lori blurted out "Why don't you simply get married?"

Everyone gaped at the blonde.

"What? That's easiest way to get American citizenship for good."

Rock's mouth opened and closed a few times before he actually managed to get some words out "But we've only known each other for less than two months! I mean, I'm not sure if Shao even would consider…"He trailed off embarrassedly, looking everywhere but at the girl sitting by his side.

"Bull. She's your mate, you two are meant to be, and besides: Steven and I knew each other less than two weeks."

"Lori's got a point there; however that's something to sort out between Rock and his mate." Tommy declared, encouraging his yet unmated beta and silencing the pushy blonde at the same time. "If you want we can leave you two alone, to talk in private."

"I don't think that's necessary" said Shao and lifted one hand to Rocks cheek, using soft power to make him look at her. "How about you start with explaining what your friends are meaning when they're calling me your 'mate'?"

And explain he did, starting with how it was near impossible for werewolves to date someone, then describing how they got their visions and ending with what being mated meant. Last but not least he unscrewed the capsule around his neck and showed her his vision.

Shao had listened very closely to everything he said with an unreadable expression, after he was finished she asked quietly "So you only want to be with me because I fit your vision and you need someone you can touch without your inner wolf howling in protest?"

"No!! It's not like that...the visions aren't truly binding, it's more like a help to find someone who'll understand and accept us and not run away in the other direction at the first sight of fur…and as for why I want to be with you, because all of me just feels _right_ when you're around. I need _you_ Shao."

Seeing nothing but honesty in his eyes she relaxed and smiled again. "You know, I never truly believed in visions, prophecies and the like, but I guess I have to reverse this opinion now, hm?"

She pulled two small flat stones out of her pocket, each adorned with a kanji. "See, when my mother knew that she was dieing, her biggest worry was what would become of me, especially if I would find love and happiness.

So we went to an old shrine in her hometown and consulted the oracle there. I had to pull two stones out of a bag with hundreds, and then the priestess interpreted them.

She predicted that I would have a strong husband and a big, caring family…however; the exact meaning of the first character is: mountain or rock, and of the second: wolf or pack of wolves."

Shao looked at the gaping black sitting beside her. "Do you remember when we first met and I was so scared because of these idiots? When I heard your name, it was like a sign from above, and my fear was gone."

Rock put his hands on her shoulders in a tentative half-embrace and asked nervously "So does that mean you still want to… um…"

"Yes; I do want to be with you, and also yes to the question you're too scared to ask, though not because of some prophecy but because being with you 'just feels _right_' for me too."

The second the words had left her mouth she was pulled into the arms of an overwhelmed Rock who tried to hide the fact that he was near tears of joy by burying his face in her neck, but she heard his muffled 'love you' anyway.

Wrapping her arms around him Shao gave him a little squeeze and whispered "I love you too, my big, strong wolf."

It took them quite a while to break apart again and only then did they register the applause and joyous howls of the others.

"Well, I guess that means welcome into our pack!" grinned Tommy, incredibly happy to see that everything between the two had worked out fine.

"Thank you…speaking of pack; am I the only human here and will you expect me to become a werewolf too?"

The alpha shook his head "If you want to turn or not is solely up to you, and I'm sure Rock will happily inform you about the pro´s and con´s just as I will gladly answer all your questions, but first I think its time to celebrate. What do you think?" Loud cheers answered his question.

"I'll make a quick drive to the hungry bucket!"

"I'll fetch the milkshakes!"

"I get some beer!"

"And I'll see if I can wheedle my mom into giving us some of her muffins. She's been baking all day long for dad's charity bazaar at the town house tomorrow, I'm sure she can spare a few."

The four rushed of, leaving Rock and Shao behind. He noticed that she was still a bit unsure by the way she was clinging to him.

"To answer your other question, Merton and Lori are humans as well and can't be turned ever, though that's a long story.

However, one of the two members of our pack who're not living here in Pleasantville is mated to a human girl, and even after two years she's still undecided about becoming a werewolf herself or not.

Tommy never pressured her in any way. It's truly your choice alone, and not one that you have to make right now. Take all the time you need to think about it, ask as many questions as you like, and whatever you decide will be perfectly ok with me and Tommy."

"He's the boss, right?"

"Yes, he's our alpha, and hence the only one who can turn you. Though even if he bites you there's still a way to back-pedal if you find you don't like it. All in all it takes near two years to transform fully, and only from then on it's permanent."

Shao smiled reassured, and their talk turned to less serious topics like when would they tell his mother or if it was ok for Rock if she wore a kimono instead of a western-style dress at their wedding.

Before they knew it the others returned and the impromptu engagement party began, especially Shao turned out to be near famished as she had been way too nervous to get much down during the previous picnic.

As everybody was happily munching away on fried chicken Rock suddenly said "I only hope the immigration agency won't cause us any trouble, seeing as we've only known each other for such a short time and haven't got a 'joint household'.

That was the reason back then they used to initially refuse my mom's entry, claiming my parent's marriage was only a sham to gain residence permit."

Shao looked troubled at this "That's not good, I can't risk trouble with them or they won't refund my money….you see, I've had to pay a security deposit, since I basically have no ties left behind in Japan they were worried that I would try and stay illegal after my permit expires. They wanted pretty much all I've got from my moms life insurance; I really _need_ that money to finish my education."

"Well, then I guess we better make sure that you two _have_ a joint household in prospect by the time Shao´s permit runs out." Five heads turned towards the Goth at his statement.

"And where do we get a place for the two to live at that fast when Stephen couldn't even find a simple room for rent in all the months he's been looking?" asked Lori sarcastically, but Merton remained completely unperturbed by it "By buying the old Morrison place."

Noticing that everyone was gaping at him he continued "Don't you remember that talk we had at Christmas, about how they're living in Lycantria, and founding a werewolf-living-community? I thought the idea sounded interesting enough to think about it, and found a way to do so that is within the bounds of our possibilities.

After studying the blueprints and the abstracts from the land register I have found that the place is downright ideal for our needs, secluded, hidden from view, yet not so isolated that we can't have normal jobs and participate in everyday life in Pleasantville.

Granted we would have to do a lot of renovating and altering, but nothing that's not feasible, and since the town has been searching for a buyer for ages its way below price and hence within our means."

The others were left speechless, but Tommy cleared his throat. "Merton buddy, no matter if it's as cheap as dirt, none of us has the money to buy a house, let alone such a big one with lots of land…I mean you're right, it would have been perfect, but"

"I have the money" stated Merton smilingly, effectively throwing everybody for a loop.

Where did Merton get that kind of money?! Will Rock's family accept Shao, and will the immigration agency cause trouble and try to send her back to Japan? But what is most: do you want me to write a detailed lemon? I've never wrote a het one before, but if it makes you happy I'll do my very best!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don´t own BwoC nor any other book mentioned in this chapter.

Thanks to: necrophile, Gazerock4evr, ShaddowWolfDagger, Damej, moonellen, ryu433, twistedsister emogirl and Second Storey Stairwell for their awesome reviews, as requested there´ll be a nice little t+m lemon in this chapter. I´m still undecided about a future Rock+Shao, if i write one i´ll put in a warning for those who want to skip it, ok?

Note: ARGH! I actually had this chapter done+dusted near two weeks ago, i just needed to add the disclaimer+stuff, but then my old pc died...can you immagine how frantic i was to loose this chapter+ all my notes? Thankfully, the guys at my computer-shop could save my data, and now i have a new pc, though its nowhere near working propperly so far...and until i´ve got at least Word running again i can´t write on *bangs head against key-board in frustration* but i swear i´ll hurry the best i can to keep going on! For now, please enjoy a nice long chapter with lots of background on Merton´s family and a good look on their future house!

Chapter 7

After several minutes of deafening silence in which everyone was gaping at Merton, Lori eventually exploded.

"Wha….where the fuck did you get that kind of money, did you rob a bank or what?"

"Of course not; my grandma left me her money…well, technically she left half of it to Becky, but that's irrelevant, my half should be enough to buy the house, and hopefully for the renovation too.

Ok, I could always take up a loan by putting the collection in pledge, but I would hate to do so, there are too many profiteers lying in wait for such a chance out there, starting with my dearest parents.

Besides, with economical planning and utilizing werewolf-strength we should be able to get the place at least inhabitable; we can always continue and perfect it later on when we've finished college and start making money."

"Whoa, hold on Merton, can you please rewind that and explain it so that we actually understand it, what collection and why would your parents wait for a chance to get their hands on it?" asked Tommy, looking every bit as confused as the others.

"O.K, lets see…it all started with my great-great-uncle Jebediah…"

"The quirky guy with the silver denture?"

"Exactly…well, he had a drinking buddy who shared his interest in creepy and spooky stuff. The guy was writing and publishing stories and poems, though not exactly successful, at least at the beginning.

My great-great-uncle was one of his earliest supporters; always bought him a beer and a warm soup when he was flat broke again while collecting whatever stories 'Eddie' published somewhere in magazines and even saving the stuff he couldn't find a publisher for so it wouldn't get lost.

Later, as he slowly started to have success Jebediah bought all his books and his friend signed them, all with a personal dedication, for he never forgot who had helped him when he'd been on the rocks.

Sadly, the guy died rather young before he could come to fame, I bet he never would have dreamed that he would be that popular more than 150years after his death."

Merton grinned "Many people back then thought Jebediah was downright crazy to spend his money on such a notorious drunkard, let alone collect his work as if it was something special, but today it's the most complete collection of Edgar Allan Poe in private hands."

Collective gasps were heard while he sipped on his milk-shake "Since he had no kids he left it all to his youngest niece, my grandma Aurora, who shared his love for scary stories.

Aside from Poe's work she loved Mary Shelley and collected her works, by the time Aurora died she had carried together one of the best private collections of the authoress, including several first issues, not only of Frankenstein but also her less known books, short stories and novellas.

However, Mary Shelley wasn't her sole interest. Her parents had send Aurora to a private school near London when she was young where she had made the acquaintance of an old writer who was writing on his latest work. Rumour has it the two had a stormy affair though she always denied it.

Nevertheless, whatever connected them; their love for literature or each other, his 'Mina' bears a striking resemblance to my grandma and the personal dedication he wrote in her copy is downright lyrical.

Needless to say she collected his works too, and kept all his letters to boot which separates her collection from others, for aside from personal stuff you can read how Stoker laid out his characters and planned the plotline…for example, did you know that he had briefly thought about letting Renfield run amok in the asylum for a diversion so that Dracula could escape with Mina?

Of course these insights into the mind of the writer during the creation of such a literary masterpiece are absolutely priceless."

The Goth sighed heavily "And there lies the rub, all together the books and stuff are worth a fortune; my parents had the value estimated in secret a few years before grandma's death, the appraiser back then said they would easily bring 8-9 millions, even more in a public auction when you sell them by the piece.

Ever since they could hardly wait until she would pass away, it was _so_ disgusting to see them lurking at the hospital with dollar signs in their eyes after grandma had her heart attack…"

Tommy pulled him into a comforting hug, knowing how much his grandma had meant to the Goth from the stories Merton had told him.

Basically Aurora had been the only family member who genuinely loved and understood him, who would listen to his dreams and encourage him; her dead had been very hard for the then barely teenaged boy.

Merton sniffed one last time and continued "Though my grandma, as old as she was, was far from senile but a sly old fox. She was on to them, and managed to get one over them right under their noses by secretly changing her will and bequeathing the collection to me."

He grinned, amusement evident in his voice "You should have seen their faces at the opening of will when they heard that they would get nothing!

All these years they had lived way beyond their means, banking on a nice, fat inheritance…thereby they had already gotten a big piece of the cake, for their car dealership had been Aurora's wedding gift to them, along with this house. A thriving business and a house free of debts, and they've managed to come within an inch of bankruptcy in less than 15 years!"

He snorted angrily "After the lawyer told them that they had no prayer contesting Aurora's last will, they had the audacity to ask me for my half of the money, blaming the weak economy for their business' imbalance - as if I didn't know that they've been on a luxury biweekly Caribbean cruise just the other day! Of course I refused…" Merton took a deep breath and compressed his suddenly quivering lips, his hand reaching for Tommy's, subconsciously turning to him for comfort.

"You wouldn't believe what stunts they pulled to get me to sign over the money and the collection…first sweet-talk; suddenly I was the best son, their pride and joy and apple of the eye, after that didn't work they tried to guilt-trip me, along with emotional blackmail, like 'if you love us then you help us', 'don't you want to make mommy happy'…

They even used Becky, who was way too young to understand what was going on, against me by telling her that it was my fault that her mommy was crying, and of course she ran to me and asked me why I was so mean to mommy…that was about the time I stopped being her big brother, soon after I became 'Freaker'…

At last came the threats and the shouting, everything short of physical violence; suddenly my dad found he needed a home office and that I could live just as well in the basement, that if I was _that_ unwilling to contribute to the family business I wouldn't be bothered with being a part of the family any longer…mom stopped doing my laundry and 'forgot' to call me to the meals, often enough there weren't even leftovers to reheat for me, hence my stock of instant noodles and such…."

Everyone was appalled; ok they had all known that Merton's relationship with his parents was peculiar - to put it mildly – but no one, not even Tommy, had known the true extent of their cruelty, or the reason behind their behaviour.

So far they had figured that they merely drifted apart, that the Dingles simply couldn't understand the highly intelligent Goth anymore once he'd reached puberty. Now that they knew the truth more than one pack member had to fight the urge to give these money-grubbing bastards a dose of what they deserved, especially Tommy.

"Its ok, they doesn't matter anymore, _you _ are my family now" whispered Merton, snuggling into the arms of his enraged mate, partly to compose himself, partly to calm the alpha down before he would do something stupid.

"Luckily Becky's half is under the strict control of an administrator, to make sure she uses it intelligently, like for a college education or to start a business, and not blows it all for clothes – or signs it over to our parents.

However I don't have an administrator because Aurora knew me and trusted me not to spend my money on foolish things, which I haven't; moreover I saved what I got on lending fees for the collection, only taking a bit to buy my hearse and the odd book on eBay."

Seeing the big asking signs on his friends' faces he elaborated "The collection is as a permanent loan at the San Francisco Library so that everyone can study the books, just as Aurora and Jebediah would have wanted it.

Besides, that way the books are cared for in the best possible way, you know, right temperature and humidity for the old paper, plus they're closely-guarded 24/7, insured against theft, fire and whatnot, and I get about 6 grand per year lending fee."

The stunned silence lasted for several minutes, until Tommy cleared his throat and said, still somewhat disbelievingly "So you really have that kind of money, we could truly pull it off and buy this place."

"Yes"

"But why would you spend all _your_ money on a place to live for _us _?" asked Lori uncomprehendingly.

"It's my job; I mean, technically as Tommy's mate I hold the position of the alpha bitch in our pack, hence I'm responsible for finding shelter…besides, I don't plan to let you live for free for the rest of your life, as soon as you'll have jobs I would expect you all to make your contribution to keep our common household up and running."

Since everyone was still looking somewhat dazed he suggested "Look, it's been a long and eventful day, why don't you all go home, think about it in peace and quiet, consult your pillow, and we'll talk again tomorrow, ok?"

Four heads nodded, and soon Merton and Tommy were alone inside the lair.

"So…you're my _bitch_, hm?"

The Goth blushed; he should have known that this phrasing was begging for puns; however the look Tommy was giving him wasn't teasing at all, at least not in a joking way. His blush deepened as he found himself being promptly stripped down to nothing by a severely turned on werewolf.

"Mine…" the growl seemed to vibrate through his very soul as he was pulled into a searing kiss. Tommy's hands took hold of his buttocks and crushed them even closer together, kneading the firm globes, claws teasing his cleft until Merton was moaning with abandon and basically melt against him.

Seeing that he couldn't stand upright anymore anyway the werewolf simply picked his mate up and started carrying him towards the bed. Merton, who had hooked his legs around his beloved's waist, giggled helplessly as the wagging tail brushed against his feet again and again, he was just too ticklish!

Thus distracted he didn't notice Tommy biting off some of his claws, only when a slick finger found its way to his entrance and ended his laughing fit abruptly. Gasping at the welcome feeling of being breached he looked up into the eyes of his mate and found nothing but love shining in the yellow glowing orbs.

'More than three years' he mused 'and we're still as much in love as in the beginning, if not more.' Suddenly Merton leaned up and gave his puzzled lover an unsuspected kiss.

"What was that for?"

"I'm just so happy…sometimes I'm still wondering what I did to deserve you…"

Tommy's gaze softened, although it was getting less and less often, sometimes Merton's old fears would still break forth, this time most likely triggered by the memories of his grandma's death and his parents insufferable behaviour afterwards.

He remembered how once during their first days he'd been already gone to the bathroom when Merton woke up.

By the time Tommy came back from taking a shower he'd been in tears, nearly going into hysterics, scared that everything had only been a nice dream, cruelly taunting him with what he would never have. From that day on he'd made sure that Merton never woke up alone in the mornings, even if that meant to wake the Goth himself with a short kiss on the days when he had to rise earlier than him.

Not that his beloved minded, he claimed he could only enjoy sleeping in when they were cuddled together anyway, and Tommy believed him, for he felt just the same.

A bed without Merton in it was too cold and empty to be comfortable and a truly sorry sight to boot….contrary to the bed he was currently seeing, with soft silken sheets and Merton writhing tantalisingly on said sheets.

Judging by the sounds he was making the Goth was more than ready, thankfully, for Tommy felt as if he couldn't hold back another second without going insane.

Nevertheless he was as careful as ever entering his beloved, and only after Merton gave the go ahead did he slowly increase the tempo of his thrusts.

'Three years' was the Goth's last thought before coherent thinking was swept away 'and the sex only keeps getting better and better!'

Meeting again the next morning, everyone agreed that buying the house was in principle a good idea, but they wanted to take a look at it first before giving the green light, seeing as it would be a decision for life.

Tommy's charm got them the key without any problems; the lady in the land register easily bought his story about writing a term paper about the old Morrison house. Next they went to the house, the humans in Merton's hearse, and the werewolves by foot, since they could cut across country they arrived within minutes after the car.

The lock on the main entrance was way too rusted to open, but Rock knew that there was a side entrance with a newer lock that should open easily.

He knew the place a bit from helping his mom tending to the old trees; apparently the old Mr. Morrison had really loved them and made it a condition in his will that whoever got the house would have to take proper care of them – which meant that the town had to spend hundreds on a gardener per year, another reason they were _very_ interested in finally selling the place.

"The trees are actually the main reason that the house is still available, most of them aren't only really old but also quite rare, which means you can't just chop them down, and that means you can't level the space in front of the house for more parking space, as it is the spot is barely big enough for a double garage, but nothing more."

Tommy nodded "Yeah, I remember that this was the critical factor with the last potential buyer, a guy who wanted to turn this into a small, high-class golf hotel.

The town council was flying off the handle when he decided at the very last moment that he couldn't buy it because he couldn't build a big-ass garage, especially since he'd already tricked them into rewiring the whole place 'to increase the marketability', which cost a small fortune."

"And now we get to reap the benefits from the failed deal" said Merton as he followed the others through the now opened door at the right side of the building.

"This used to be the housemasters room, through that door you get into the adjoining bathroom, the other leads to the rest of the cellar, and that small spiral staircase leads to a room on the first floor."

Tommy could see the sparkle in his beloved's eyes; this room was like a bigger version of the lair but with rather large windows going onto the garden as the basement was built only halfway into the earth, plus the wrought iron spiral staircase would be a perfect match to the Goths much-loved wrought iron bed.

He caught Merton's sweeping gaze and nodded, indicating that he didn't mind making this their future bedroom which earned him a blinding smile.

The rest of the cellar held nothing exciting, only an old, ready for the scrap heap generator, probably used during power failures, and a combined heating and hot water supply system which was in surprisingly good shape.

"This baby is high-class workmanship, if we get it serviced it should be working for many years to come" said Merton, beaming at the huge furnace "And since its running on wood we'll always have a low fuel bill."

"There are still tons of old, broken furniture in the upper floors, those alone should bring us halfway through our first winter" added Rock.

"Good, does that mean we can finally go upstairs and check out the living space instead of scaring up the creepy-crawlies in the boiler room?" asked Lori impatiently.

The others rolled their eyes good-naturedly, all too eager to see the rest of the house themselves.

Going up the big central staircase they reached the first floor, the main entrance to their left and corresponding double doors leading into the garden to their right. The corridor in front of them looked just like the one behind them, with four doors on each side of it and ending in another door.

"The ground plan of this place is absolutely symmetric, one side of the building mirrors the other, and the second floor is an exact copy of the first, the only slight difference being that spiral staircase we saw before" explained Merton, going down one of the corridorthe second story is an exact copy of the first.s and opening a door at random.

"Remember folks, this used to be some sort of private dorm, with single rooms, so the rooms are rather small…"

"Damn right they are! If you put a queen-size bed in there you don't even have the space for nightstands, and only a small two-door closet…."

A shrill whistle interrupted Lori's rant and made the werewolves flinch.

"How about you hear me out first before you hit the panic button, hm? As I was about to say, each room in itself is small - but the walls between them aren't all load-bearing.

I could show you the blueprints and explain you the static of the building, but to put it in a nutshell: we can remove every second wall between those small rooms, getting ones that are easily big enough for a king-size bed, nightstands and whatever closet you want to have…does that satisfy you?"

Lori actually blushed slightly and nodded, keeping her mouth shut for once.

"Good, then let's continue…" Checking the rest of the small rooms they saw that Rock had been right, most still contained a small desk, a single bed-frame and a small closet, all made from wood.

Eventually the Goth opened the door at the end of the hallway, leading them into a huge, sunlit room, the amazing view into the garden through the big windows almost making up for the mouldy linoleum on the floor.

"This used to be one of the recreation rooms, the door leads to a former community bathroom; according to my plan it would become a living room with adjoined private bathroom."

He opened the door, peering inside "Yep, that's easily big enough for a shower _and_ a bathtub."

Merton looked at his friends "As you've seen, we would have to completely redo the floors and the bathrooms, break down some walls and repaper and paint the rest, but the wiring is new and the water pipes are sound, as are the windows and the roof….ok, the windows could probably need a coat of paint, but none are leaking.

Though I can't promise that my money will suffice to renovate the whole place at once, we should be able to get it inhabitable, like build in a shower now and add a bathtub later when we're making money, and buy second-hand household appliances… All in all I think we could do this; the question is, do you want to?"

Lori and Stephen looked at each other while Rock and Shao whispered among themselves. After a couple of minutes the shy girl nodded and Rock grinned "We're in."

Meanwhile the other couple had also ended their silent conversation and Steven announced "You can count us in as well."

Merton and Tommy beamed, as did the rest, and Lori laughed "Well, then I guess the only question left is, who gets which wing?"

"Merton and I are calling dibs on the one with the spiral staircase, that room in the basement just screams 'lair 2'."

"If it's alright with you, maybe we could have the one on the other side? It goes to the east and I love to see the sun rise in the mornings" asked Shao timidly.

Lori shrugged and said "Works for me, I prefer the second floor anyway, I like the view from above."

"Ok, that's settled then" said Merton, writing down who would get which part of the house.

"As I have said, I planned one of the big rooms as living room, with connected bathroom, a bedroom made of two small rooms and a second room of the same size for each couple, with the exception of me and Tommy since we'll sleep in the basement room and have our bathroom down there too….I'd figured the second room for studying now, later on you could easily turn it to a child's room. That's ok so far with each of you?"

Slightly dumbfounded nods from everyone around answered him.

"Damn, you really thought this through, right down to the last detail" said Tommy, once again amazed at his awesome mate.

"Of course, I've even already made plans to turn some of the space we don't need into guest rooms once we can afford it, you know so that Sam, Mary and Luke can spend Christmas at our place for a change, or for when Callisto and Jamie want to visit us again."

Tommy couldn't have stopped himself even if he'd wanted to; he just had to kiss Merton.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" panted a flushed Goth.

"For being so absolutely awesome, for still sweeping me off my feet, take your pick."

Steven cleared his throat to get the lovebirds attention "I've noticed that you've said nothing about kitchens, so I assume you plan a community kitchen?"

"Yes, it's cheaper to equip only one, and since most of us can't really cook anyway…"

Merton shrugged, it was an open secret that he couldn't cook and neither could Tommy, Steven and Shao were actually the only ones capable of fixing a real meal and not just deep-frozen stuff.

Steven continued "I suggest that we prepare some sort of sickbay too, given how often we get hurt fighting something nasty and since we can't really go to an emergency room…I could procure the necessary equipment once I start working at the hospital, maybe even an ultrasound."

He gave Tommy and Merton a meaningful look and the alpha nodded, knowing what he was hinting at. Although they've never discussed it with Steven, it was no secret that he and Merton planned to use the scroll once they were done with college and of course they would need medical assistance during that time but wouldn't be able to go to a hospital, fortunately they had a doctor in their pack.

"You're right; I would say we set it up near the entrance so that we can reach it quickly if we come home after a fight with a case of emergency."

Merton was sorting through his notes "That should be no problem, we still have plenty of free room on the right side, I'd planned the kitchen on the left, that is if you and Rock don't mind having it beside your quarters?" he looked at Shao questioningly.

"Not at all, and since I'm quite an early bird I'll probably have the coffee ready by the time the first of you arrives for breakfast."

"That's good news, for Lori is unbearable before she gets her first dose of caffeine in the mornings."

General snickers followed the comment and the blonde rolled her eyes. "Very funny guys…but speaking of good news, I know where we can get near everything we'll need for the renovation for a really good price."

Smirking at the stunned faces of her friends she continued "Guess whose uncle owns a do-it-yourself store? I called Larry yesterday evening and he promised that we can get everything from him at cost price; his range of products goes from wooden flooring and tiles to wallpaper and paint, basically everything we'll need, except appliances."

"Your uncle is the Larry from 'Larry's and Manny's nuts and bolts' over in Muhlenburg?

Wow, that really going to save us a lot of money."

"Speaking of which, I thought that since money will be very tight and we'll have to pinch and scrimp; how about we lay out a vegetable garden? There's more than enough space and I can get the seeds and seedlings for free from my mom's nursery" suggested Rock.

"Good idea, for even after the renovation is done we'll have to cut corners seeing as Steven is the only one of us with a real job so far, and he won't exactly be making a bundle as house physician."

The others nodded, although they all made a bit money on the side, Rock with helping out his mom or Tommy as the coach's aid, it was nowhere near enough to fund a multi-person household. Until the others finished college and got jobs they all would be reliant on Steven income and the lending fees Merton received for the collection, and needed to save money wherever they could.

Following Rock to the spot he thought would be suited best for a vegetable garden Steven quietly addressed his alpha "We could also start hunting, these large woods hold more that enough game for a small pack like ours."

So far, Steven had been the only one who would occasionally hunt a rabbit or a small deer and actually eat it, Tommy remembered how utterly embarrassed the other had been as he'd asked, very cautiously, for permission to hunt, explaining that he was used to it from Lycantria.

Of course Tommy gave his beta his ok, and although he himself was still reluctant to follow his animal instincts that far he had out of curiosity taken a bite from Steven's kill to try it, but just once.

It wasn't that he didn't like the taste, more the opposite; he was shocked to find how delicious the raw, bloody meat tasted to his wolf palate and got scared that he could actually acquire a taste for it.

Tommy still felt rather uneasy about it but figured it was high time to overcome his foolish fears; he was a wolf and wolves hunted, period. Besides, it wasn't as if they would have to eat their kills raw, and seeing as with Steven they had an expert in skinning and carving game…

"You're right, given our elevated requirement for meat that's going to save us a lot of money too."

Stephen exhaled the breath he'd been holding, relieved that his alpha wasn't angry at his suggest for he knew how Tommy felt about hunting and killing animals and quickly started to explain the hunting seasons for the different sorts of game.

He was about to recommend that they got a large freezer or better two to store meat for fence time, and the vegetables from their future garden for winter, as a really strange smell reached his nostrils, like a freshly lit match. The other werewolves noticed it too and simultaneously froze, sniffing, trying to find its source.

They didn't have to search long; rustling leaves had them turning their heads just in time to see what looked like a black shepherd dog come forth from the underbrush.

The poor thing had obviously been through very bad times, its ribs were visible even through the mud-caked fur. Even stranger than its smell, it was making an obvious beeline for Tommy although dogs were usually scared of werewolves.

The others were surprised to see a disbelieving smile lighten up their alpha's face "Sparky?"

"Ave, Tomasius" barked the 'dog', happily wagging his tail, and effectively throwing the other werewolves and Shao for a loop.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Same old, same old.

Thanks to my great – and patient – reviewers: necrophile, moonellen, Damej, ryu433, tailsjm, ShaddowWolfDagger, Hortensia and twistedsister emogirl.

I'm so glad that you liked the background I made up for Merton; next you'll get Sparky's…and since two of you asked so nicely: a _detailed_ lemon (2 pages in word, I hope that's enough to satisfy you *grin*) Don't let it be said I won't do everything to keep my readers happy!

Note: For all those who don't own a furry pet allowed to run free, _frontline_ is a remedy against flees and ticks. I figure Merton has got to have quite a huge stash of the stuff ;-)

Chapter 8

They went back to the lair, with Sparky running along the werewolves and the humans in the hearse making a quick stop at the supermarket to buy some dog food.

By the time Lori, Shao and Merton came back Tommy had already hosed Sparky down and was combing out his tangled fur with his claws, removing burs and twigs in the process, to the hellhound's obvious delight.

However the moment he saw the humans dragging a huge bag of kibble into the lair Sparky lost all interest in grooming and made a dash at the food, no wonder given his half-starved state.

Merton simply dropped the heavy sack and quickly tore a hole into it, letting him eat as much as he wanted of it.

Meanwhile Tommy started to explain wherefrom he, Lori and Merton knew Sparky, causing the others to gape alternately at him and the munching dog.

"He's from hell? As in deep down below and full of flames where sinners go after dying hell?"

"Yup."

"No wonder he smells like sulphur…"

"I always though the legends about demonic dogs stem from humans seeing us in wolf-form."

"No…however he's not demonic anymore, Merton exorcised him."

Three heads jerked towards the Goth who blushed "It wasn't that difficult, just some blessed water from the Jordan, a bit of consecrated salt and a little prayer…"

"But if he's exorcised, them why does he still smell like fire and brimstone…and barks Latin?"

"There's still a bit demonic energy left in him, and that won't ever change simply due to the long time he spent down there, but that's nothing compared to how he was before.

For example, Sparky can't transform into his big-ass monster-form anymore, or grow two additional heads, but he can still bark fire and change between the grown up form you see now and a cute whelp-form."

"Wait a minute…big demonic dog with three heads? So he was like the mythological Cerberus?"

"Nope, technically speaking he _is_ Cerberus – but I thought Sparky suits him better, and he likes it too, so…" Tommy shrugged.

Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as Sparky, who had stopped eating, was suddenly engulfed in a whirlwind of flying sparks and flamelets.

The fire-and-brimstone smell increased to the point the humans could detect it as well, but before someone could start to panic the phenomenon vanished again, leaving behind an adorable puppy.

"I take it you're full? Then maybe you can now tell us what happened to you." The puppy barked, wagged his tail and jumped onto Tommy's lap, clearly begging to get petted, started talking, and Merton translated.

As it turned out, Sparky had spent the majority of the last years with the nice older man Tommy had found for him.

He genuinely liked the old man who always treated him well, and since he was half-blind and nearly deaf he never noticed when his 'dog' would turn on the TV at night, slipped away for a walk on his own or did something else an ordinary animal couldn't or wouldn't.

But after he had a heart-attack the old man's son decided he couldn't live alone anymore but should come to live with him and his wife.

The old man didn't mind moving to Florida and was looking forward to spend time with his grandkids, however the moment they arrived, it turned out that the son didn't plan to let his father live in the guestroom and care for him himself but had made arrangements to put him in a nursing home somewhere, and Sparky ended up in the dog pound.

Needless to say he wasn't happy to get penned up with dozens of annoying, dirty mutts who barked 24/7, some of which even had fleas! (At this point of the story, Merton discretely went for his stash of _frontline _ and inconspicuously rubbed a good dose into the hellhound's fur, just in case.)

No wonder he was in a bad mood and started plotting his escape right away, especially after overhearing some of the staff speculating if neutering would make him less 'aggressive' and more 'affable'.

They were probably still wondering what started the small fire and how such little flames could melt a hole in the fence….Once free Sparky decided to return to the one person he could trust and who would surely help him: Tommy.

He didn't doubt that he could find his way back to Pleasantville, but since him and his former master had travelled to Florida by plane he drastically underestimated the distance – though he was way smarter than an ordinary dog, concepts like 'airspeed' were beyond him.

Sparky simply followed his instincts, stealing food whenever he could, which wasn't often since he had to avoid humans so he wouldn't get caught again.

He tried to hunt too, but his distinctive smell always gave him away too early, hence his current drastically undernourished state.

Sparky ended his story with a desperate plea for help, giving them his best puppy-dog-eyes, a sight which caused even Lori to melt.

Tommy felt that the initial shock and fear of his friends had vanished and ruffled the hellhound's fur. "Well, you're lucky buddy; my friends and I are fixing to buy the place were you found us today and could need a good watchdog to chase the bunnies out of the vegetable garden. What do you say?"

He was tackled and licked in the face by an enthusiastic Sparky who obviously liked the idea to live in a house with such a big garden where he could run free, and more importantly where he didn't had to pretend to be a normal dog so he wouldn't end up in a lab.

Later that day Tommy and Merton went to Tommy's parental home, mostly to talk with Bob Dawkins about the house but also in hopes of finding a temporary place for Sparky since they could hardly keep him in their dorm room until they got the house ready.

The hellhound walked calmly at Tommy's heels and had promised to be at his best behaviour.

Bob was delighted to see them again, and although Sally's smile was still a bit strained as she excused herself before hurrying to an editorial meeting it was way better than her previous hostility.

After a bit of Smalltalk the mayor asked "By the way, I heard about you loaning the key for the old Morrison place yesterday…"

"Yeah, that's actually why we came today….you see, we want to buy it."

Bobs first reaction was to burst out laughing at what he believed to be a joke "That was a good one, son! Lord knows the town would love to get rid of that old thing, but I fear its still gonna be up for sale by the time I retire…"

"We weren't making a joke, Bob, we truly want to buy the house…here, I've brought my bank statement so you can see that I have enough money…"

Tommy's father took a look at the proffered documents while listening how Merton and his son explained their plans for the house.

He was stunned, the two had obviously thought everything through; heck the clever Goth had even already checked the land register and the blueprints!

"Well boys, that came definitely out of the left field…however, I'm gonna pass on that you're interested in buying the place tomorrow morning, and I'm sure that our town treasurer will get back to you immediately." He smiled at them and joked "Any more bombshells you want to drop on us today?"

"Only a little one…you see this cute little furball? His owner got a heart attack and had to go to a nursing home, and we thought it would be a damn shame to take his only friend to the pound.

I've known Sparky for quite some time, he's a good boy and well-behaved so he wouldn't give you any trouble and it would be only for a few weeks until we've fixed up the house good enough that he can stay there.

He likes to be outdoors most of the time and even walks himself, so basically you would only have to feed him." Tommy pleaded, while Sparky turned on his charm, wagging his tail and making big puppy-eyes.

"Ok, but only for a few weeks and only if your brother doesn't react allergic again."

Tommy beamed and agreed, knowing very well that Dean's previous 'allergy' was only faked because he was too lazy to walk a dog.

"Perfect, then we'll bring over his sleeping blanket and kibble in the evening."

As predicted the town treasurer contacted Merton the very next day, making an appointment for the early afternoon.

Mr. Haversham's face lit up as he saw the Goth, convinced negotiating with this young man would be a walk in the park.

"So you're interested in buying the Morrison house? It's a lovely place, near historic structure. We've had many interested parties over the years, you're lucky that it never worked out with one of them…"

Merton kept his friendly smile throughout the town treasurer's little speech which ended in him naming a price that was more than 5 percent higher then the offer of the last potential buyer, but making it sound as if it was highly favourable.

Merton, still smiling serenely, stated "You must be joking."

Haversham's confident grin faded as Merton continued and he had to realise that the Goth knew all too well how desperately they wanted to get rid of the old house, pointing out how much it was costing the town each year and how it would soon become a bottomless pit once the 'historic structure' of the old thing would start to give way to decay. The town treasurer almost winced at the thought of what new roofing for the huge mansion would cost….but wait a minute.

"If it's so bad, then why are you that interested to buy it?"

"I'm not _that_ interested" lied Merton smoothly "I merely thought it's an option worth checking out before I start looking for a place outside of Pleasantville…like in that nice developing area over in Muhlenburg…."

A muscle in Haversham's temple started to twitch. Damn, the town council would skin him alive if he blew up once more! He'd barely managed to keep his job after the disaster with the guy who had them rewiring the whole thing before backing out; he _had_ to make this sale.

Merton noticed very well which state the man was in and almost felt sorry for him, but he had to drive such a hard bargain, knowing he'll need to have enough money left for the renovation.

Not to mention that it would be another year until they were done with college and could get jobs, and then there were his and Tommy's family plans, which was part of the reason they needed a place hidden from view.

The people in Pleasantville might turn a blind eye on the frequent supernatural occurrences around them but they weren't that dense not to notice a pregnant male in their midst, so the mother-to-be had to stay out of sight and couldn't get a job for even longer than the rest of them.

By the time they finally reached an agreement the poor town treasurer was near a nervous breakdown and Merton had gotten the price almost 20 percent down.

"There's just one last thing, Mr. Haversham, I don't want you to make my name public. Seeing as I'm a close friend of Tommy Dawkins people might get the wrong idea…"

The older man nodded hurriedly, having the people suspect that something was fishy about the deal was the last thing he wanted. "We can simply say the buyer wants to stay anonymous."

The Goth nodded his consent and bid his good bye, and Haversham collapsed into his chair.

What a day! And tomorrow he would have to explain to the town council why he had sold the place that far under price…he _so_ needed a drink right now.

At about the same time Merton was leaving the town house in high spirits Rock and Shao were walking towards the football player's home and getting more nervous by the minute.

Whereas Shao was anxious to meet her future mother-in-law Rock was busily thinking about how to introduce her to his mom _and_ break the news about them already being engaged to boot.

Once there he smiled encouragingly at his little angel, took a deep breath and rung the bell.

Jeanne Johnson opened the door with a beaming smile "Bonjour! Come in, the coffee is just about ready."

When Rock had called her yesterday, saying that he wanted her to meet someone special Jeanne had been delighted, secretly hoping that he'd finally found a girlfriend.

The poor boy always worked so hard for college and helped her at the nursery whenever he could; she had been a bit worried about his rather sparse private life.

Thus she was thrilled to see a lovely girl standing beside her son, recognising the girl's earrings right away as the ones he had purchased the other day.

The more they talked the more Jeanne liked Shao; she could see that the shy Asian and her son made a good match. However, she could also feel that there was something the two were holding back, something big from the way Rock was searching for the right words.

Just as Jeanne was about to ask bluntly if she was becoming a grandma she noticed the look her son gave to the girl. So full of love and adoration, and how tenderly he reached for her hand…her gaze softened, she knew what they were trying to tell her.

"You want to get married."

The two young people in front of her were stunned. "How…?"

"It's the way you look at each other, your father used to look at me the same way." Her smile turned wistful for a minute, thinking of her beloved late husband. With a slight shake of her head she snapped back to the here and now.

"Did you already settle a date?"

"Not really, though it's got to be before May since Shao's study permit is running out…we only hope the immigration agency won't be giving us trouble."

Jeanne snorted, thinking back to her own encounter with those gentlemen. "You better prepare yourself for the worst – and find a place to live. While I surely wouldn't mind if you two simply stayed in your old room, I doubt that would count as an own household."

Rock grinned "That won't be a problem, a friend of us has inherited some money and is buying the old Morrison place, we'll help him with the renovation and in exchange we get a place to live at and don't even have to pay rent until after we've finished college and get fulltime jobs."

"That's great! Now, about your wedding…"

Soon, the trio was planning the marriage, when, where and how they wanted to celebrate, it was obvious that Jeanne was looking forward to see them tie the knot and Rock secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Seems his worries about his mom and Shao not getting along were completely unwarranted, in fact they appeared to be on the best way to become friends.

Now if only his father's family would react as positively…who was he kidding, they still refused to accept his mom, the chances of them welcoming Shao with open arms were about as big as a snowball's chance in hell.

Nevertheless he would inform them and hope for the best, maybe the thought of great-grandchildren respectively great-nieces and - nephews would outweigh their stupid prejudices. If not, they could all go and jump in a lake.

Hours later as they wanted to leave Jeanne asked them to wait a minute. She got a slightly worn looking little velvet box out of a cupboard.

"Here, I want you to take this."

Shao opened the box and Rock's eyes went wide, instantly recognising what was inside although his mother never wore it again after his father had died.

"That's your old ring of engagement"

Jeanne nodded "And now it's going to be yours."

He carefully took the ring out of its box and all but reverently put it on Shao's finger, glad to see that it fit.

Completely choked up Shao stared at the little piece of jewellery, not taking in the two small pearls flanking a larger milk-white centre stone, or the fact that it had to be made of white gold and not silver for Rock had no problem touching it, but only caring about what Jeanne was saying with this gesture: that she truly accepted and even welcomed Shao as a future part of the family and not merely tolerated her, only acting friendly for her son's sake.

Without thinking she threw herself into the elder woman's arms "Thank you."

Jeanne held the overwhelmed girl in her arms as she sobbed, stroking her back. "You're welcome."

That night, as Tommy entered the lair after training the high school football team, he was greeted by a highly excited Merton.

"I did it! We're getting the house! I've already called the others to let them know the good news, but I wanted to tell you in person."

Tommy hugged his beaming mate "Actually, I've already heard about it…I was visiting my dad today, and I've got to tell you the gossip factory at the town house is working overtime.

The gossipers are having field day, there's no other topic than the mysterious person who bought the old Morrison house…rumour has it it's got to be a sly dog, a wheeler-dealer who nearly made our poor town treasurer burst into tears and beg for mercy."

Merton was blushing furiously, but recognised the praise behind his lover's teasing. A mischievous gleam came into his eyes and he purred "How about I make _you_ beg for mercy?"

Tommy gulped as he was slowly stripped and herded towards the bed; it was rare that Merton took the lead in their night-time activities but if he did he was a real tease. Recalling other encounters like this he had no doubt that he'd soon be begging for mercy - and more.

First, he was pushed down onto the mattress and told to grip the headboard and not to let go or else. Then, the Goth began to systematically drive him insane.

Straddling him, Merton slowly kissed and licked his way all over his chest and up to his shoulders while his hands roamed just about everywhere at once except where he wanted them the most, alternating soft caresses and light scratches.

Tommy whimpered, his hands itched to touch his beloved in return - and to shove those sinful hands onto his cock where they belonged, damn it - but he knew that the little devil would stop the second he let got of the headboard.

As Merton began to lightly nip along his neck, fingers twisting his nipples and hips gyrating on top of him, Tommy snapped "Please, oh god, Merton, _please_…"

The Goth chuckled "Patience is a virtue, you know…but since you've been such a good puppy…"

He bent down and licked the swollen member from base to tip, tongue briefly circling the head, before swallowing him down as deep as he could.

Tommy positively howled and arched up, trying to drive himself even further into that blissful heat but Merton had anticipated that move and leaned back just in time.

A frustrated whine from a now fully wolfed out Tommy made him chuckle again, he just loved to see how much effect he had on his beloved, plus knowing that he was the only one who could get away with a bit power-play always made him feel special.

After all, no matter how friendly and peace loving he was, Tommy was still a dominant alpha and had the instincts to match.

"Don't move; you know I'm not strong enough to hold you down."

Tommy nodded, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but how was he supposed to do this when Merton's tongue felt so wonderful?

The scent of vanilla hit his nose and his eyes snapped open to what had to be the most erotic sight ever: Merton's head bobbing between his tights, his ass up in the air, giving Tommy a good view of how he was preparing himself, fingers thrusting in and out in the same rhythm his mouth was sucking him.

A low growl was all the warning Merton got before he was yanked up into his mate's arms and kissed senseless.

When they had to separate for a much needed breath the werewolf rumbled "Need you, now."

Merton, still too out of breath to speak simply put his arms around his lover's neck and nodded, leaving it to the stronger to lift him up and position him.

Callused paws grabbed his hips in a firm yet gentle grip and seconds later he was being stretched and filled.

Merton moaned at the welcome feeling and leaned in to kiss his beloved deeply, telling him without words how much he loved him and tightened his legs around Tommy's waist.

The werewolf understood the unspoken command and began to thrust, slow but deep, just as his mate loved it.

Soon though his pace was increasing, the long foreplay taking its toll, he knew he wouldn't last long today and did everything to make sure that his lover would follow him into ecstasy.

With a tiny grin he sneaked his tail in between their bodies, knowing how much the Goth got off on it.

Merton jerked as suddenly soft fur was rubbing all over his privates and arched his back, head lolling to one side, what gave Tommy a perfect opportunity to lick and nip at his exposed neck, paying special attention to the sensitive mating mark.

That did it, with an unarticulated cry Merton came, shuddering in his lover's arms who followed suit and howled his orgasm to the heavens. Afterwards, they snuggled under the covers, still entwined and catching their breaths.

Outside of the lair a cherry-red Shao was also trying to catch her breath, though for very different reasons.

She had come by to return a book about the behaviour of wolves Merton had loaned her to prepare her for the life with a werewolf when she had heard growls and howling.

Half scared; half curious she had tiptoed over to one of the basement windows to sneak a peak of what was going on, just in time to witness the tail end of Tommy and Merton having sex.

And as much as her good manners had screamed at her to get away and leave those two their privacy, she'd stayed and stared like hypnotised. Now she was creeping away, praying that Tommy wouldn't hear or smell her.

Although as horrified as she was at her previous behaviour, Shao was also glad about that she had witnessed this for it had answered questions she would have never dared to ask…like if private parts changed in some way too when their owner wolfed out (thankfully, no).

Above all though Shao was incredibly relieved and glad to see that, even blinded by raging passion, a werewolf was still gentle with its mate.

Over the next couple of weeks very little happened, everyone was too busy studying for their last tests before spring break.

Shao sent a telegram to the distant relative that was keeping her remaining stuff on his attic, basically just one large wardrobe trunk with some more clothes, a few books and a small number of memorabilia, like family photos and such; everything else had been sold to pay her mother's hospital bill and funeral.

She was hoping it would arrive in time since the kimono she planned to wear on her wedding day was inside.

Rock informed the members of his football team about his upcoming marriage and simultaneously asked them to keep an eye on that stupid Bret Michaels in case he would try to harass Shao again.

Though they were stunned to hear that their buddy was actually going to tie the knot that fast they promised to look out for his girl, which was no surprise. It was practically set in stone: mess with the girl of a team member and you have the whole team after you, no one was stupid or suicidal enough to risk this.

Plus they were already looking forward to getting tanked at Rock's bachelor party.

Sadly, informing his grandparents went as predicted; although everyone was eager to meet his bride after the initial surprise about him being engaged had worn off, once they heard that Shao was Japanese things went downhill rapidly.

By the time his uncle Hank started to rant about 'evil rice-eating whores trying to corrupt the American youth,' Rock had simply left.

He tried not to take it too hard, telling himself that with his mom, Shao and his pack he got all the family he needed, but it stung nonetheless.

On the full moon a few days before spring break Shao got to see her mate-to-be for the first time fully transformed.

She was shocked to see him turn completely into an animal, as well as at his sheer size, but was again rather fascinated than scared.

Even in this form Shao could clearly see the love shining in his eyes, and before long she was ruffling and petting the soft black fur.

As he saw how the girl didn't flinch but merely giggled as a rough tongue licked across her cheek the silver-brown alpha wolf wagged his tail, absolutely convinced that she would make a good mate for his beta.

What he couldn't know was that seeing her beloved like this, on all fours yet still the same on the inside, had allayed her last fears about the nature of werewolves and helped her to finally make up her mind about one last important matter.

Next chapter: A wedding, some wedding guests and they'll start with the renovation. Plus you get to know what decision Shao made in that full moon night. But first I need your input: do you want a detailed wedding night? So please, review!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: It's a sad fact that I still don't own Big Wolf on Campus.

A big thanks! to all my reviewers: oxcab, ShadowWolfDagger, ryu433, Little Miss Destruction, Damej, necrophile, Wolflover, Yuki Valons, moonellen, Lycanbride, Magnetic and littlemissgoody2shoesme

Note: yes, there will be a detailed wedding night! I tried to make it romantic without getting corny; increasing to passionate without sounding porn-like…let you be the judge if I managed to pull it off ;-)

For those who don't want to read a het-scene: just stop reading once everyone leaves the party and they start undressing and go straight to the note at the end of the chapter, I made it so that you don't miss any details that are important for the rest of the story.

And now, read and enjoy!

9. Chapter

Alice Cooper's classic 'Schools Out' blasted from each speaker in the factory as everyone celebrated the beginning of spring break, or some, like Steven, their graduation.

The pack was in the thick of it, though unlike the other students they weren't looking forward to two weeks of party but two weeks of hard work on their house.

Sam, Luke and Mary would arrive in a few days to help, but also to meet their new pack sister, and stay for the wedding ceremony at the end of vacation.

Right the next morning they drove to their house, armed with various tools, a boom box as well as sandwiches and something to drink since they planned to stay the whole day.

Merton, who had made the plan, assigned everyone to a task, for the girls it started with scrapping off the old paint from the window frames which were in dire need of a new paint coat.

The werewolves started with clearing out the rooms the planned to renovate, carrying everything that could be used as firewood later on to the rooms on the right side of the upper floor which they didn't plan to remodel for now.

Merton himself, after carefully checking the blueprints once more, marked the walls that would get torn down and showed the heating engineer to the old furnace so he could check it through. As predicted, the heating system only needed a good cleaning of the pipes, which thankfully was done in a matter of a few hours because with a stranger around the werewolves had to be careful and hold back their strength.

Even Sparky got a job, he was shown the spot Rock had picked for their vegetable garden and told to break up the soil.

Since he loved digging anyway and was eager to help he started right away, with so much ardour the others had to run for cover in order not to get hit by flying earth. Of course he would be covered in mud afterwards, but that was nothing a hosing down couldn't fix.

The hellhound did save them some precious time, seeing as they needed to get started on their garden as soon as possible if they wanted to get a decent harvest come fall; with Sparky doing the groundwork Rock could spend more time working at the house with the others.

At dusk they gathered around a small bonfire, exhausted but proud of what they had accomplished.

Tomorrow, they could already start with breaking down the walls, Lori and Shao would get finished with scrapping off the old paint and could start applying the new and Sparky could move on to deepening the shallow whole that was once the fire pond.

Merton planned to get some loads of gravel to fill up the many holes in the dirt road leading to their property which was in a terrible state. He feared for the axles of his old hearse which was by no means a cross-country vehicle.

Rock had ordered the seeds and seedlings he would need; they should arrive by the end of the week, more than enough time for him to plant the garden before his upcoming wedding.

"I just don't understand why I'm stuck with scrapping paint when you get to do all the fun stuff like tearing down walls and such" groused a tired and sweaty Lori "I bet I could keep up with you guys, no sweat!"

"I'm sure you could, but then you would be feeling stiff and aching the next day and would fall out for days - and we need you" soothed Steven his slightly grouchy mate.

"I know how Lori feels, I'm not exactly happy about ordering you all around while being unable to help with the hard work either, but I know my metes and bounds" sighed Merton.

"We're all giving our best, me with muscles, you with your brain, and together we'll manage just fine" declared Tommy, intending to cheer his beloved up.

His efforts were rewarded with a little smile which he returned, stretching his arms above his head. A loud pop could be heard and he grunted "Damn, I'm bushed…and so looking forward to my bed right now."

Approving nods and murmurs followed his statement and he continued "Well then, good night everyone, see you tomorrow all bright-eyed and fluffy-tailed!"

Sparky barked and puffed out his tail.

"Uh no, that's not what Tommy meant…I'll explain it to you on the way back to Pleasantville" promised Merton a confused hellhound who couldn't understand why everyone had suddenly started laughing.

Tearing down the walls turned out to be far easier than even Merton had anticipated; the non-bearing walls were barely two inches thick and came already tumbling down after a few good hits with a sledgehammer, at the end of the day nothing but dust and rubble was left of them.

Lori couldn't resist and went berserk on one of the last walls herself with obvious glee while Rock went to check on how far Sparky had come with their fire pond.

He had to make sure that it would be big and deep enough to meet the conditions of the fire department, since they were that far away from the next hydrant establishing a water source for fire fighting was one of the conditions they needed to fulfil before moving in.

In the back of his mind he was already looking forward to next year, when the renovation was over and he would have the time for details.

Rock planned to add some life to their pond, plant water lilies, reeds and lotus, maybe get some kois so Shao would feel more at home…come to think of it, wouldn't that be a nice gift for their first anniversary? He chuckled to himself, not even married yet and he was already henpecked, and loving it.

Passing a huge weeping willow Rock saw that the future pond was almost ready, there were only some large stones Sparky couldn't remove himself left in the hole.

After praising the hard-working hellhound and giving him some water, he went to remove the offending stones and straighten the rim with a spade. Now all that needed to be done was clearing out the old ditch that previously linked the pond to a creek which ran through the woods only a few hundred feet away.

Once that connection was reactivated the pond would fill in no time, providing not only quench water but also plenty of water for watering the plants in their nearby vegetable garden, which was one of the main reasons Rock chose to set the garden out in that particular place.

At dusk they gathered around a fire again, Merton had secured their fire pit by using some leftover gravel as foundation and laying the stones Sparky had unearthed as a circle around.

They sat on the protruding roots from the old oak above them, roasting marshmallows and slapping at mosquitoes.

They were dead on their feet but also exited; with the walls down one began to see were this was going and for the first time they started to truly believe that they could really start moving in by the end of vacation.

"I can't wait to pick out wall paint!"

"And floors, what do you think we should take? Parquet is way too expensive, and carpet is a bitch to get fur out. My vacuum overheats every time, and nearly broke down last time Tommy was shedding his winter coat."

"Maybe we can find some low-priced floorboards; otherwise I would say that tiles are our best option."

"Sounds good…listen, how about we go to Lori's uncle tomorrow morning and look for tiles and stuff? We can't do much more before we get the rubble and bulk garbage out of our way anyway and could all need a little break.

Sam, Luke and Mary will arrive here tomorrow around noon, still early enough to take some loads to the dump and finish repainting the windows; and Luke's pick-up will be way better to haul that crap to the city dump then Merton's hearse."

The others nodded, and Lori added "That way Larry would also have the time to order stuff in case we want something that's currently out of stock. We don't want to be forced to take a break just because we have to wait for material."

Larry Baxter welcomed them with a bright smile, it quickly became obvious that he saw Lori as the daughter he never had and that she'd been telling him a lot about her friends. He took the time to ask questions about their house, its structure and equipment, and provided them with valuable professional advice.

For example, he explained to them how tiles truly were the most compatible with their underfloor heating since wood would soon warp due to the constant influence of temperature - unless it was specially, aka costly, pre-treated.

Knowing their austerity budget Lori's uncle showed them to his storage depot.

"Those stone-optic tiles are a good, sturdy quality and usually rather expensive; however we recently had a contraction firm ordering a whole lot of them before going under so we're now left with them. I thought I'll let you have first choice before putting the rest out on sale."

They started digging enthusiastically through the different colours and textures and soon found something to their liking.

Both Merton and Shao fancied large anthracite, slate-like looking tiles whereas Lori picked something terracotta-coloured.

Tommy found some faked freestone in a light sandy colour and managed to convince his beloved that while slate would be fine for their living room it would be way too dark for their bedroom in the cellar, especially since Merton planned to paint it in the same dark colours as the lair.

The Goth agreed with his beloved's reasoning, and Rock, who had been completely silent so far, suggested using the sandy freestone for their kitchen as well.

Larry helped them to figure out how much they would need of each sort and promised to deliver everything to their place the day after tomorrow, along with the basic white tiles for their bathrooms and the simple light grey ones for the hallways and the sickbay, plus the necessary tile cement and grout.

They bid him goodbye, already liking the friendly elder man and looking forward to meet him again when they would come back for tapware, sinks, shower receptors and the like. Then, all returned to their house to sweep the debris together, except Tommy who was waiting for Luke, Sam and Mary to arrive so he could show them the way to their place.

He didn't have to wait long, however before heading out they made a quick side-trip to Tommy's home where the three would be staying so they could unload their luggage and Tommy could fetch Sparky. The hellhound was already biting at the bit to get out of the neat little garden and back to digging and chasing voles.

When they arrived at the mansion everyone gave them a warm welcome, Shao was positively surprised that she as a stranger received friendly hugs as well. However, Mary started chatting with her right away as she joined Shao and Lori in painting the window frames while the werewolves loaded Luke's pick-up to the brink with rubble, knowing it would take several tours until the last remnants of the torn down walls were gone.

Rock was happy to see how his beloved little angel was making new friends while he listened to Sam talking about tiling. Both he and Luke had experience in tiling since they had renovated the bathrooms in Sam's and Mary's parental home a few years back.

They worked well into the evening to get the last of the junk to the dump; the others had already lit the fire by the time Luke and Tommy returned from their last trip, the later looking slightly nervous as he called for his mate.

"Hey Merton, could you come over for a minute, I want to show you something…"

Curious, the Goth went over to his beloved and gaped at what he saw in the bed of the truck. It was one of those gigantic antiquated bathtubs, about three foot deep and more than six foot long, with a backrest on one side and standing on four clawed feet which were shaped like lion paws.

"I know we've agreed on the small bathroom in the cellar where we can fit only a tiny bathtub in, but when I saw this one standing on the dump I just had to show it to you. I know its way too big to fit in our bathroom, but I thought maybe we could put it in our bedroom, I'm sure we could find a solution for the drain and it would be so cool to have a tub where we both fit in together….if you don't like it I could always bring it back tomorr…" Tommy couldn't finish was he was about to say because he was tackled and kissed.

"Don't you dare to bring it back, it's awesome! Downright perfect! I always wanted to have one of those, but they're near impossible to find nowadays - though they were really popular back in the Victorian age…"

At this point Tommy tuned out Merton's monologue, not really interested in the different bathtub styles of the last centuries, all he needed to know was that he'd been right; the moment he had seen this huge old thing he had known it was just made for his beloved Goth.

They spent some time sitting around the fire, talking, laughing and generally catching up on what had happened since the last time they've seen each other.

Mary had started working as an elementary school teacher whereas Sam and Luke had gained a research assignment at a nearby national park.

Luke's mate was still nowhere in sight, which didn't bother him in the least, he was more excited that Lycantria was _finally_ allowing his long-time chat partner to leave the island.

The two had been exchanging mails for near two years now, starting with a discussion about the behaviour differences between wolves, dogs and werewolves.

By now they were good friends and both had been looking forward to meet their fellow scientist, but so far the stuffy old farts aka Nepomuk and the like, who had to decide on the matter, had refused to let a 'fertile female of child-bearing age' go.

Only after none of her age group had a Lycanamora-vision of her, and her own indicated that she wasn't meant to mate at all, had Callisto interfered and allowed her to go, under the condition that Tommy and his pack would take over the responsibility to help her find her way in the human world.

Tommy had agreed, trusting Luke, Sam and Mary to keep her safe, only requesting to meet her once she arrived which would be sometime during the summer.

They parted rather late; Steven would stay with Lori, Sam and Mary in Tommy's old room and Luke on a cot with Dean. Shao planned to spend the night with Rock, though they had been doing little more than kissing and cuddling so far they were already used to falling asleep in each others arms.

However, before heading home Shao asked Rock to make a detour to the lair, to return a book she had loaned from Merton she said. The black complied but frowned inwardly; they were all exhausted, why it was that important for her to return that book tonight?

Shao was unusually nervous as she knocked at Merton's cellar door, and soon Rock understand why for his little angel stated point-blank that she had come to a decision and wanted to get turned into a werewolf.

All three males gaped stunned as she adduced her reasons, ranging from 'I want my future children to be like their father' to 'I think I might need the increased healing ability, and being stronger would be nice too'.

At this point she blushed slightly, averting Rocks gaze, and he understood; even if he'd still been human he'd be much stronger than her, but as a werewolf he played in a completely different league.

She wanted them to be on a level playing field, as much as this was possible anyway, and that he wouldn't have to hold back with her all the time for fear of hurting her.

Tommy studied her closely for several seconds before nodding his consent, obviously having found what he was looking for.

"Ok…do you want to do it now? That way your transformation would be complete before the wedding."

Shao blinked and swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat "How…I mean…will it hurt very much?"

She sounded rather scared and Rock tensed, remembering his own violent introduction to Lycanthropy.

Tommy smiled "Don't worry, it's not like I'm not going to take a mouthful out of you, a small bite is entirely sufficient." Turning to his trembling beta he added quietly "The way you, Luke and Sam were turned back then was unnecessarily cruel. I would never do such a thing."

In the end, both were surprised at how easy and quick it was, only a short prick of teeth, barely drawing blood; that was all. Shao looked somewhat incredulous at her hand; shouldn't she feel different now somehow?

Although she couldn't feel a difference, the others could definitely; they howled their congratulations the moment the couple stepped into the mansion the next morning.

After another round of hugs though, they all went back to business, which meant for today preparing the floor for tiling.

Removing the awful musty linoleum wasn't that hard, but scrapping off the old glue that was once used to lay it out was nasty. Rock was more than happy to skip in favour of readying their garden and checking on their pond, which was slowly filling up.

Thanks to a slight natural slope of the terrain they didn't need a pump and the water inflow would automatically stop once the pond was full, which meant in reverse the pond would always be full no matter how much they withdrew for their garden.

Content that everything was running smoothly he began to dig over the earth of their future garden, adding several bags full of fertile mother soil to the ground in preparation for the seedlings.

On the full moon two days before her wedding Shao submitted to Tommy, again pleasantly surprised how quick and easy it was, at least in hindsight.

Truth to be told, she did panic for a moment when she was told what exactly she had to do, only seeing the huge sharp teeth of the gigantic silver brown wolf Tommy had turned into. But Rock calmed her and held her hand so she gathered her courage and lay down.

Afterwards, she took the time to take a good look at her new appearance, bless Merton for bringing a mirror! Her colours were much the same as Rock's, sheer yellow eyes and anthracite fur, her normally completely straight hair had turned into a thick mane, but her teeth and claws were more slender, probably because she was a female.

Rock was mesmerized; he couldn't stop touching her, running his paws through her hair, stroking her cheeks.

Shao clearly enjoyed his actions, remembering his reaction back when she had stroked him as she snuggled into his touch just like Rock had; the only difference was that she had no tail to wag – yet.

And when that thought didn't disturb her in the slightest anymore she knew without doubt that she'd made the right decision.

The banns had been published, the wedding bands were bought, he'd even managed to find a rental suit despite his size, nevertheless Rock was a nervous wreck. He paced before the town house, somehow utterly convinced that something was going to go awry.

"Have you got the…"

"YES, I've got the rings; no, I haven't forgotten them at home; yes, I'm sure of it….geez, man, get a grip! Shao will be here soon, you'll get married, and nothing will go wrong" assured Tommy, who was going to be best man, his agitated friend.

On the other side of town in Rock's old bedroom Lori and Mary were helping Shao to get ready.

After putting on a simple white under-kimono made from normal silk it was time for the actual one made from lustrous night blue silk. Once the two other girls felt how heavy the thick, embroidered cloth was they understood why Shao had asked for help, that thing must be weighing pounds!

Donning the kimono was a bitter-sweet experience for Shao; she couldn't help but remember her late mother who had taught her how to put it on and how to move in the restrictive garments.

Once, her mother had owned numerous beautiful kimonos back from her days as a Geisha, many with several layers, but over time they'd been forced to sell them all, except this one.

Although it was rather plain compared to the more colourful, gold-embroidered ones her mother had owned Shao had always loved this one best, so when her mother had asked her years ago which one to save for her wedding day her choice had been clear. Looking at the silver crescent moons embroidered on the hem and the bottom part of the wide sleeves she marvelled at how fitting her choice turned out to be.

The kimono was closed solely with a very broad silk belt which began a few inches under her breasts and went to just above her hip and was wrapped around her several times before fastened with a complicated knot.

"Why does this stupid knot has to be in your back anyway, if you tie it in the front you could simply do it yourself." asked a frustrated Lori after struggling with knotting the silvery white belt for a few minutes.

"NO!" exclaimed an appalled Shao, before explaining "Only whores and concubines tie their obi in the front, because they need to be able to get dressed quickly and without help, say after a quickie in a dark alley or cheap motel, that's why this sort of knot is dubbed 'for easy access'.

A respectable woman doesn't need to rush getting dressed, hence the knot in the back… and even though no one in this country knows of these things, there's no way I'm going to my wedding dressed like a whore!"

Lori and Mary nodded in understanding, though still a bit surprised at her violent reaction, and after a few more minutes they managed to tie the knot correctly.

What they couldn't know was that Shao had been mistaken for a whore more than once in her past.

Just because she was born out of wedlock many men considered her free game, and her mixed heritage made it even worse; they acted as if that would naturally make her a slut.

Whenever she had tried to have a night out she had to fight off men who made rude advances, bluntly trying to grope her or shove banknotes down her neckline, most of them old enough to be her farther or even her grandfather, and how angry those men had gotten when she refused to accept their indecent offers!

Shao suppressed a shudder at these memories, glad that those days were over, and proud that she had never given in, no matter how bad their financial situation had been.

She smiled as she tied a plain, pure white rope over the middle of her belt, this one closing in a simple bow in her front, grateful that neither Lori now Mary asked about the meaning of this particular item, it would have been way too embarrassing to explain.

The two girls left to get dressed their selves while Shao put on the finishing touches on her appearance.

She plaited her waist long hair into a thick braid which she twisted into a bun high on her head, securing it with a couple of ebony hairpins.

On her request, Jeanne had provided her with some white jasmine, whose tiny star-shaped flowers Shao now put wherever the strands of her hair were crossing, making the bun almost look like a bejewelled crown.

The flowers were giving of a sweet smell which was an added bonus seeing as she couldn't wear any perfume due to her beloved's sensitive werewolf-nose; however Merton had assured her that werewolves only responded negatively to artificial scents, natural ones were ok.

After one last scrutinizing look in the mirror Shao took a deep breath and drew herself up to her full height, she was as ready as she'll ever be.

Downstairs Jeanne was handing her the bridal bouquet, red roses and forget-me-nots, and Merton was waiting outside to drive them to the townhouse. She couldn't help but chuckle at the though of probably being the first bride ever to drive to her wedding in a hearse.

Minutes later they were in the parking space near the townhouse, ready to walk the last few yards, as a nervous looking man appeared out of nowhere and made a beeline for Shao.

Pale, shaking, and with chewed off fingernails he looked like a junkie on withdrawal, but Merton seemed to recognise him so the girls remained calm.

"What are you doing here?" The Goth asked frowning, as far as he knew the former almost-werewolf hadn't even been on the bachelor party a few days ago at the factory, so why would he come to the wedding?

"I just can't watch how you're leading that young girl to the slaughter!" exclaimed Ferris, before turning to Shao "Listen, you don't know me, but you've got to trust me; Rock is not what you think he is!" He said desperately, clutching her arm as if to hold her back and continued, almost beseechingly "You _can't _marry him; there are things…. you don't know what you're getting into" he looked nervously in the direction of the townhouse, clearly afraid, and suddenly Shao understood who this man was and what this was all about.

"You're Ferryman, right? While I appreciate the effort, I can assure you that I know _exactly_ what I'm getting into." She let her eyes flash yellow and he let go of her arm as if burned.

"Besides, if you knew my husband-to-be, _your_ _former friend_, just one bit, you would know that he would _never_ marry someone without telling them first. And now excuse me; I've got a wedding to attend." Without sparing him one more glance Shao continued her way, leaving a speechless Ferris behind.

As they turned the corner and came into view, both Rock's and Steven's jaw hit the floor.

The young doctor couldn't believe that the two other girls had actually managed to get his wonderful, stubborn mate to wear a dress! And he really like what he saw, the dress hugged Lori's curves just right and the peach-coloured satin brought out the colour of her eyes and hair. Seeing his admiring gaze the blonde decided that maybe, just maybe she should wear dresses more often.

Rock of course had only eyes for Shao; he could hardly believe that this beauty who was all but floating gracefully across the sidewalk would soon be his.

He was like hypnotised, not noticing anything else, be it Lori and Mary walking slightly behind Shao or the people on the other side of the street gaping at the unusual sight of someone dressed completely in traditional Asiatic clothing.

As she came closer he could make out more details beside the silver crescents on the hem, like why dozens of stars seem to light up on the dark blue cloth with every move she made, they were embroidered in the same colour and only visible if in motion.

All in all, his little angel looked as if she was shrouded in a piece of night sky.

The actual ceremony was downright anticlimactically.

After gaping at the bride for minutes - and suspiciously double-checking her foreign identification papers - the marriage registrar droned out his text, both answered the obligatory question with 'yes', they exchanged rings and that was it.

They were officially man and wife.

Shao and Rock couldn't care less about the formal procedure; it was merely to appease the authorities anyway. Their real bond would be formed tonight and sealed with a bite instead of a ring.

First though, it was time to celebrate. Fetching some last needed items from Rock's home they drove to their house, where the males had spent the whole morning preparing.

Blankets and cushions were strewn around the fireplace, various lanterns and oil lamps were waiting to be lit at dusk and fresh flowers were scattered everywhere in makeshift vases (mostly empty jam jars).

Steven and Tommy had brought down a yearling boar which was already roasting above the fire, closely guarded by Sparky who had been deliriously happy when he got the intestines and was promised the bones to boot.

Shao had prepared a traditional starter, little packages of wonton pastry filled with chicken, soybean sprouts and the like; they only needed a few minutes in the steamer basket to be ready.

Soon they were all enjoying the exotic flavour of ginger, chilli and lemongrass, praising the cooking skills of a slightly blushing Shao, and getting really eager for the main curse, no wonder since they all had to skip lunch due to the early-afternoon wedding.

The pig turned out to be delicious as well; Steven had prepared it after an age-old recipe from Lycantria with lots of wild herbs and surprisingly, honey.

They ate, laughed, drank and chatted and when afternoon became evening, they lit the lanterns hanging in the low branches of the oak along with the oil lamps on the floor whose sweet smell kept the mosquitoes at bay.

Later on the couples cuddled together around the fire, wrapped up in blankets against a slightly chilly breeze.

Rock had pulled Shao onto his lap before enwrapping them both and now she was shifting a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position.

A sharp intake of air from above together with a slight blush creeping across Rock's neck made her realise why exactly his lap seemed to be so unusually bumpy today.

She smiled and straightened up to give him a deep kiss before snuggling close again, her own anticipation rising. 'Soon, my love'

As if on cue, Tommy turned towards Luke and asked "Say, when is your train due tomorrow morning again?"

"About 7.45….geez, already that late, I guess we'll better hit the sack or we'll be dead on our feet tomorrow" answered Luke, getting the hint.

"Then Merton and I should better head home too, since we're supposed to drive you to the station…by the way, thanks again for leaving us your old pick-up."

"No problem…."

Neither Shao nor Rock paid any attention to their Smalltalk, too focused on the fact that they were going to be alone soon. One last round of goodbye-hugs and the others were gone.

Rock calmly put out the fire before leading Shao inside the house.

After working really hard for the last two weeks straight the renovation was pretty much complete, the empty rooms were only lacking household appliances and furniture.

Rock's mom had taken them shopping the other day and insisted on buying them a new bed as a wedding-present, after blushing profusely Shao had shyly pointed at a nice set made of cherrywood. Rock liked it too and agreed after checking if the model was also available in king-size since he knew from experience that everything else would be too short for him.

Sadly, that meant they had to wait a couple of weeks for the bed frame and had to settle with just the mattress for now.

They both had brought a lantern which they now set on the floor – lamps were another thing that was still missing – which cast a soft glow across the room. Shao smiled as she saw the soft comforter and large fluffy pillows, Rock had truly done his best to make the mattress lying on the bare floor look cosy and inviting.

The tall black cleared his throat "So…Lori told me about the meaning behind the knot in your belt, does the rope has a meaning too?"

He had meant to relieve some tension by asking what he thought was a completely harmless question, thus he was surprised to see her blushing furiously.

Shao lowered her eyes, whispering "Yes…it means that no one ever opened my obi."

Rock wasn't truly surprised to hear that she was still a virgin, given her shy behaviour he had in fact expected it; it made it easier to confess what he was about to say.

"Same here."

And now it was his turn to blush as Shao's head jerked up and she stared at him incredulously.

"Well, I did fool around some, you know, making out on backseats and under the bleachers, but never all the way. I just couldn't get rid of the notion that those girls only wanted me because I was the star player, and I didn't want to be the trophy of a jock concubine…I wanted it to be with someone special."

God, he sounded ridiculous even in his own ears, but the look in her eyes made him forget his embarrassment, apparently Shao liked what he'd said, a lot, if the fierce kiss she gave him was anything to go by.

They broke apart panting, but far from sated. Keeping their eyes locked Rock untied the rope across her obi and threw it somewhere to his left, while Shao already reached behind herself to undo the more complicated knot of her obi.

She handed him one end of the long broad ribbon and slowly started to spin, with her hands high above her head, reminding him more than ever of a porcelain-doll dancing atop a musical clock.

Several circles later the belt was uncoiled and Shao stood before him, waiting for him to remove the next-to-last layer. Rock felt like unwrapping the most precious present ever as he reverently pushed the heavy cloth from her shoulders, leaving her in only her sheer under kimono.

Shao shivered, though not from feeling cold but from Rock's heated gaze, she could feel her nipples stiffen from those looks alone and knowing he could see it made it only worse.

She tugged at his sleeve "This is not fair you know, I'm standing here in underwear and you're still fully clothed."

He grinned at her cute mock pout. "No problem, my sweet little angel" and was standing before her in just his boxers in record time.

"Better?"

"Much."

Rock pulled her into his arms and they kissed again. He moaned at the feeling of her soft little hands wandering over his chest, tracing every muscle and let his own hands glide lower until he reached her firm behind. Once he had a good grip he lifted her up, and though Shao gave a surprised squeak she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist.

In this position they were at eyelevel which allowed Rock to kiss her without craning his neck down, also he could see her face flush in reaction to his swollen member brushing against her private parts.

Shao swallowed as she felt this, looking deep inside his eyes she saw her own feelings mirrored; they were full of love, but with a hint of nervousness.

Although they've seen each other in underwear before, kissed and even slept cuddled close to the other this was different, because they both knew that tonight they would go further.

Rock let her down and kneeled down onto the mattress before her, wordlessly opening the string on her under kimono. Shao shrugged out of it, keeping her eyes on his face, smiling at his awestruck expression, glad that he obviously liked what he saw.

Rock raised his hands and cupped both of her breasts, brushing his thumb over the rosy coloured tips and Shao arched into his touch with a moan.

That sound triggered a reaction in him; he wanted, no needed to hear her make it again!

He leaned in so that his mouth could take over for his hands and traced his tongue around her areola, before sucking and nibbling at her peak. His efforts were rewarded with a cry, followed by a full-body shiver, and if he hadn't been holding her up she'd been collapsing then and there.

Carefully Rock lowered her onto the mattress, loving her dreamily expression, that was when he noticed the smell for the first time.

It was a peculiar smell, sweet yet spicy, like a wild flower, and absolutely addictive.

He wanted more, following his wolfish nose he soon ended up sniffing between her legs were the aroma was the strongest.

Seeing the damp spot on her panties his human brain realised what he was scenting and his wolf chimed in, reasoning that something that smelled that great had to have an awesome taste too. Rock agreed, and carefully shredded the flimsy material with his claws.

Shao had barely caught her breath from whatever he'd done to her breasts when she felt his hot breath between her tights, sending goose bumps across her skin. Thus distracted she didn't realise what happened to her panties and was totally caught of guard when a hot, rough tongue brushed over her most private area.

Her outcry echoed through the house and her hands buried themselves in Rock's soft mane, not sure if to push him away or keep him in place; it felt almost too good.

Rock enjoyed her reaction thoroughly, how she panted, whimpered and squirmed, with her eyes glowing yellow every so often. He was delighted and kind of proud that he could bring his mate so much pleasure, and also that she obviously didn't care that he was fully wolfed out by now.

The sounds she made increased as her breathing became laboured and her legs widened on their own accord, but suddenly she sat up and gently, but firmly pushed him away. Whatever Rock wanted to say caught in his throat at the sight of the mischievous gleam inside the eyes of a now equally wolfed out Shao.

"You were getting ahead again, but now it's my turn."

She got rid of his boxers just as unceremoniously as he had removed her panties, though also just as carefully.

However, the moment Rock was fully exposed her audacity left her and her earlier nervousness threatened to return. Shao fought against the rising panic at the sight of his everything but tiny cock, gathered her courage, and extended a slightly shaking hand.

"Oh…wow."

She was amazed at how soft the skin felt, like velvet, and so warm! What also surprised her was how loose it was, she could easily move it over the hard core, though she noticed that as she continued to rub and fondle the flesh, the skin became tauter, whilst the dark head started to peek out more and more.

Rock was relieved to see that her initial moment of fear was short-lived and quickly gave way to inquisitiveness.

Seeing her look at his cock with such a curious expression was a major turn-on, combined with her gentle touch and the feather light brush of her fur it was a divine torture.

He couldn't help the needy whimper escaping him which interrupted Shao's exploration.

Rock's expression spoke volumes and reminded her of the tingling between her legs, it was time.

She moved closer and Rock helped, pulling her into his lap so that she straddled him with her legs wrapped loosely around him. After a bit of shifting Shao felt the insistent throb of his hardness against her nether lips and moaned, instinctively grinding against him.

Rock let her do as she liked for a bit to rekindle her arousal again, before stopping her with a gentle kiss.

"Are you ready?"

Shao swallowed hard but nodded so he gently lifted her bottom with one hand while positioning himself with the other. Then, much to her surprise, he let go of her behind.

Softly caressing her cheek he whispered "It's your call."

Shao leaned up to kiss him, deeply, and for several seconds nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, she tightened her legs, effectively impaling herself.

Rock felt her give a jerk in his arms as her pained gasp broke their kiss. Shao buried her head in his neck while he stroked her rigid back, trying to get her to relax and hating himself for being the cause of her pain. Just smelling her blood and her tears made him want to kill something.

"It's ok, it will pass, I swear…"

After what felt like an eternity Shao sat up again. Taking a deep breath to brace herself she dared to make a small movement and was surprised to feel pleasure instead of renewed pain.

She repeated the action, and a tiny moan escaped her lips.

Next time, Rock thrust up in time with her downward movement and both groaned.

Before they knew it they had developed a rhythm that was steadily increasing, though while this doubtlessly felt better than anything they'd ever experienced both couldn't shake off the vague notion that something was missing.

It was the sight of Shao's bared throat as she threw her head back with her eyes closed in bliss that made Rock, who was the more experienced when it came to ones wolfish instincts of the two, realise where that weird feeling stemmed from.

It took him only seconds to comprehend what his wolf wanted and he stopped, much to Shao's confusion, and indicated her to turn around.

As soon as she was on all fours though Shao understood why he'd made them change positions. Her inner she-wolf was all but purring at feeling her chosen mate hovering above her, _mounting her_, the way his strong body blanketed her smaller one and made her sway in motion with his powerful thrusts gave her a feeling of security. It showed her that she had found a big, strong mate who would always protect and care for her and their future cubs.

Nearly overwhelmed with her new instincts, and loving it, Shao wasn't even scared anymore to receive Rock's bite but looking forward to it, although she knew it wouldn't be a short prick like Tommy's had been. Because now she could understood what both Merton and Lori had been trying to tell her: you don't feel the pain of the bite, only the happiness of being joined with your loved one forever.

The more passionate their coupling grew, the more feral became the sounds they were making, yips and yowls first interlaced and finally replaced their moans and groans.

Not that they cared, both too focused on the frissons of pleasure running through them.

Shao fought to stay on her hands and not to collapse under the onslaught of his thrusts while doing her best to ram her hips backwards so they would clash even harder with Rock's. All she wanted was to feel even more, to take him deeper, and apparently he had the same idea for he pulled her upright while kneeling down so that she came to sit backwards in his lap.

Rising up on her widespread knees Shao let herself fall down again, aided by his hands on her hips they set a fast pace that increased further near-instantly.

One of his hands wandered to her breasts, kneading them, teasing the sensitive flesh with his fur and claws, and as the other moved between her legs she shrieked with rapture. Shao was so close; she didn't even notice Rock's mouth on her shoulder, licking along her collarbone to finally ghost over her pulse point.

It was his rumbling growl vibrating through her whole body that finally did it, screaming to high heaven Shao felt no pain at all from his bite only a lightening-like sensation shooting from her neck down between her legs increasing her ecstasy even more.

She was only vague aware of Rock jerking under her, but he felt him letting go of her neck and heard him howl, assuring her that he too had found bliss.

For Rock, it was seeing Shao barring her neck completely subconsciously to him as her peak was about to hit that did it, growling a possessive "Mine!" he sank his sharp teeth in the soft flesh on her shoulder, too far gone into his instincts to worry about hurting her, and howled, telling the whole world that this female was his.

Then they both collapsed, thoroughly exhausted but absolutely happy. Rock couldn't keep a silly grin off of his face as he looked at the girl in his arms; smiling radiantly, still heavily panting and flushed from their lovemaking, she never looked more beautiful to him.

But then he saw a single drop of blood run down across her skin, belatedly noticing the coppery taste in his mouth, and asked worried "Are you ok? I mean, I didn't hurt you too bad, right?"

Shao only smiled and pulled him down for a kiss "Never been better."

The candles in the lanterns started to flicker, indicating that they were about to go out, as Rock pulled the comforter over their tired bodies.

Shao cuddled into his arms and fell asleep almost instantly after mumbling what could have passed as 'good night' and he smiled, giving her one last kiss on her forehead, whispering "Good night…my mate."

Note: So, how did you like my very first het-scene? Anyway, in the next chapter there will be a short recap of what they did with the house, basically a description of how it's looking now so that you can see it before your inner eye. Then I'll go into fast motion for about a year, meaning I want them to be done with college so I can _finally_ start on the mpreg!

And although I'm not going to go into details here, I can already assure you that it won't be as easy as 'just drink this potion and you'll be pregnant'. Nope, our boys are in for some big surprises!

Personally, I'm already looking forward to writing Sally Dawkins reaction when she gets to know _how exactly_ she's going to become a grandma.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Same old, same old.

Thanks to my dearest necrophile, ryu433, Damej, Magnetic, ShadowWolfDagger, tailsjm and twistedsister emogirl.

Your feedback truly helps a lot, for example I'm glad to see that you're not annoyed by the titbits of Japanese culture I've added, I simply wanted to show that just because Shao decided rather quickly to stay with Rock she won't abandon her roots.

Also, I can already tell that quite a few of you will be in for a BIG surprise in this chapter!

Note: This chapter contains major fast motions, something I've never done before so it might feel a bit bumpy here and there…but I'm just too impatient to get to the mpreg!

For your information: 'Dallas' used to be a famous TV-series in the 80s, and 'who shot J.R.' was, according to my mom, the most nerve-wrecking cliff-hanger moment of the whole show (just so you know when it comes to the part about Dean).

10. Chapter

Sally Dawkins was more than surprised as their car passed the last trees and the house came into view. She still remembered the old Morrison Mansion from doing a report about it a few years ago, back then it had been a dark, slightly creepy place, now it was almost unrecognisable.

The trees were lopped allowing way more light to filter through and loads of gravel had turned the muddy space in front of the building into a real parking space, most of all though for the first time in years the house was showing signs of habitation.

One could hear cheery pop music, a barking dog, laughter, someone was delivering furniture, the windows were clean and some even already sporting curtains.

Tommy greeted his parents as they exited the car "Hello! Come on, I'm giving you the guided tour of the place, though we better use the side entrance since the moving guys are blocking the main one."

"Can we take a look at the garden first? You've told us so much about the pond and the fireplace…"

Tommy shrugged "Sure."

He led them around the right side of the building and onto the slightly raised terrace. To their right, they could see a massive old oak with big protruding roots and a secured fireplace underneath, perfect for bonfires and cook-outs.

Tommy pointed to the left to a small grove of trees that weren't as tall as the others around. "That's our orchard, about half of it is apples, but we have also cherries, peaches and pears.

The huge thing about a hundred yards behind and a bit to the right of them is a weeping willow; if you look closely you can see our pond looking out from under it.

Our vegetable garden starts right behind the fruit trees and goes till the pond, though it's mostly hidden from view by the trees.

We've got tomatoes, zucchinis, a few pumpkins and melons, beans, carrots, broccoli, paprika and chilli peppers, ginger, thyme and rosemary. I know it sounds much, but remember we plan to harvest enough to last us through most of the winter." He added, seeing his mom's slack-jawed expression.

Bob shook his head "I knew the lot had to be big since one of the previous interested parties planned to turn it into a golf course, but…this got to be easily as big as four football fields!"

"Actually, it's more than five, nearly six when you add the parking space in the font" grinned Tommy.

"Why do I have the sudden feeling that we were outwitted selling it for such a very cheap price?" groused the major good-naturedly.

His son turned serious "Why do you think Merton didn't want people to know that _we_ bought the place? Wait till you see the inside, once we're completely done with the renovation there'll be more and more people seeing its value - and will start questioning why the city couldn't sell it with more profit."

The major paled a little; suddenly very glad that he hadn't told a soul who bought the house, the slightest hint of favouritism would be a political disaster for him.

"Don't worry dad, we've told everybody that the 'anonymous buyer' allows us to live here for little rent in exchange for renovating and taking care of the place until he knows what to do with his investment. Granted, we can't keep that lie up forever, but long enough for the terms of the sale to be forgotten. Now, how about I show you the inside?"

They entered through the terrace doors and followed Tommy into a large room. "This used to be four smaller rooms, we removed the walls in between and now it's going to be our community kitchen with dining area."

Though there were still most appliances lacking, one could already see the outline of the u-shaped kitchen along one side, including a large kitchen island in the middle. The sandy floor went well with the pinewood cupboards and white walls, making the room seem bright and friendly.

"It's really nice, but isn't it a bit huge?"

"Well, we are already six people, add future children and visiting friends…I mean, we can't expect you to put up our friends forever, right? You've complained yourself about how crowded it was during spring break with three guests and only one master bathroom."

Sally nodded and Bob asked "So you're friends will continue to visit regularly?"

"Of course, they're a part of my pack…which is why we've already made plans for adding guest rooms in the future; basically half of the upper floor is reserved for this purpose."

He led them through another door into a small hallway nearly blocked by the cursing furniture movers who were struggling with a rather large piece. "That's got to be a part of Rock's and Shao's bed frame…their bedroom goes to the garden, opposite is a room of the same size that goes to the front of the house. It's currently empty but will soon become sort of a study/home office, and in the long run a child's room."

Tommy ignored the slight flinch of his parents at the mention of children; he and Merton had decided not to mention the possibility of grandchildren to his parents until they knew that their plan had actually worked. So he said nothing and ushered them into the living room.

"You see it's still mostly empty since we've got wait and see how much money we've left for furniture after buying the necessities, a fridge is just more important than a couch."

He shrugged, obviously not bothered by the austere surroundings. "By the way, Shao and Rock aren't the only ones who decided upon those slate-like tiles, Merton and I used the same in our bedroom, also the same wall colour…well, mostly."

Tommy didn't bother to explain that Merton and he had originally agreed upon not using the slate tiles in their bedroom since it would make the room in the basement to gloomy, especially given the Goth's rather dark favourite wall colours.

But after seeing the ivory off-white Shao had picked for their rooms because it reminded her of the rice-paper doors of her homeland, Merton had wanted to use this light colour for their bedroom instead because it reminded him of parchment which would fit just perfectly to his many books.

Tommy was more than ok with this, happy not to end up with a purple bedroom (or worse) but in turn was cornered about the floor. Since he now had no more argument they changed their original plan and put the dark stuff in the basement and the pale yellow freestone in the living room, but he got to admit it looked good that way – even though Merton of course couldn't resist to 'accentuate some details' with another colour.

"That door leads to the bathroom which also goes to the front. Lori's and Stephen's rooms are right above these and have exactly the same layout, only the colours are totally different.

Terracotta floor, yellow walls, cypress green curtains and lavender cushions on their couch…seriously, it's like looking at a commercial for spending ones vacation in the Toscana. I mean I knew they both love pasta, but I would have never taken them for such rabid Italy-fans."

He shook his head while leading his parents back through the hall and kitchen toward the other side of the house "They're already nearly completely furnished, though mostly with stuff from Lori's old room. We've made their quarters top priority for now since Steven needs a place to live, next are Shao and Rock in case the immigration office decides to check if they have a common household.

Merton's and my rooms are still lagging way behind since we're the least urgent, basically we've managed little else beside painting the walls so far, and now that the holidays are over we've got to focus on studying again…though we plan to finish the rest and move in completely during summer break."

"What is behind those doors?"

"Nothing…those are simply rooms we haven't remodelled yet."

They took a look inside one and were shocked, the small, run-down room stood in sharp contrast to the nice, bright ones they'd seen before, it made them realise just how much time and effort their son and the others had put into the renovation.

"But why is this one so small?"

"They were all like this; we had to tear down quite a few walls to get more convenient sized ones. You just can't see it anymore because we stonewalled the superfluous doorways….and this is our future living room."

The room they entered now could only described as sunny, in more than one way. Granted, the other living room they had seen had just as many windows and was just as light, but this…bright, sunflower-yellow covered nearly the whole walls, and the ceiling was painted a light summer-sky blue.

"I take it you like the colouring" commented a chuckling Tommy his parents amazed expressions. "As you can see, we've left about a handbreadth of white around the door and window frames as well as in the corners and right under the ceiling and above the floor, plus we plan on adding white curtains and such so the yellow doesn't get too overwhelming."

"And what's with that white column protruding from the wall between the door and the window?"

"Oh, that's the chimney from our furnace, we want to add a fire place there; according to Lori's uncle Larry that's no problem and he can get us a nice not too expensive self-building one including mantel and all."

"I can't help myself; somehow this room feels bigger than the other."

"It is, since Merton and I got our bathroom downstairs we could add the space the others have theirs in to our living room, though the spiral case is taking away quite a bit space as will the fireplace, so in the end the difference isn't that big. Now, let's go downstairs, shall we?"

Sally didn't look too happy about climbing down the wrought iron steps with her pumps but followed her son and husband nonetheless.

The basement room was still empty apart from some moving boxes and indeed painted in an ivory colour - except the windowless wall opposite the side entrance door which was a rich blood red.

Sally gasped and Tommy chuckled at her reaction "We want to put our bed left from the cellar door in front of the window which lead to the garden and our bathtub on the right, because the bathroom with the necessary pipes in on the other side of the wall…and Merton insisted that this colour would bring out the wrought iron headboard and the antique white tub with its golden paws the best.

Aside from that and our wardrobe there'll be mostly Merton's computer and bookshelves down here….which are a lot, I swear he owns hundreds of books."

What he didn't told them was that apposite to the red wall his Goth had already ordered purple satin curtains, complete with golden drawstrings and tassels, or that Rasputin, the beloved scaly pet would find his home down here too.

Come to think of it, did he ever mention that Merton owned a snake? Probably not…oh well, he really loved his parents, but there were things they were better off not knowing; such as how often - and serious - he got hurt fighting monsters, or that the cute little furball that had stayed with them for a few weeks occasionally barked Latin and peed liquid fire.

"Oh my…that's amazing!" His father's exclamation tore Tommy out of his musings.

He smiled "Yeah, that was Merton's doing too…I swear, he has a knack for colours, it would have never occurred to me to paint the ceiling in a different colour than the walls, but it looks so awesome the others want to follow the example."

However, in difference to the room above this ones ceiling wasn't just painted in one colour; no, it started with a cornflower-blue at the outer edges and got steadily darker until there was a broad strip of blackish blue in the middle, which ran loosely diagonal across the ceiling.

In combination with the silver glitter he'd applied to the middle of the dark stripe, Merton had created a damn good image of the Milky Way.

"Son, I'm honest, when you two came to me and said that you wanted to buy this old house I though you were crazy and biting off way more than you could chew but now…this is truly turning into a nice, cosy home. I'm really proud on what you…all of you, have accomplished."

Tommy was deeply moved by his dad's words and tried to conceal it by turning his head away. Looking out of the window he said "Hey, look, our lawn mowers are here again."

His parents followed his gaze and immediately spotted the 'lawn mowers': a couple of deer was grazing in the meadow. "You're lucky, though they come every day to drink from our pond they mostly appear at dusk. Although Sparky keeps them out of our vegetables they seem to understand that he won't harm them as long as they stay on the grass."

"That's one clever dog you've got there."

"You've got no idea dad."

As Shao and Rock returned that evening and looked inside their bedroom it became apparent that Jeanne had secretly added, and paid for, the matching nightstands and a chest of drawers to their bed.

Now that they, together with Rock's old wardrobe, had a complete sleeping room, and since the bathroom was mostly complete – shower, sink and WC yes, tub no – they moved in.

That way Rock didn't have to make an extra tour early each morning to water their garden but could do so after getting up and then simply run to classes since the college was only about three miles away – if one made a beeline through the woods, which was no problem for a werewolf.

Soon their cherries were ripe for picking and Shao, who truly was an early bird, spent nearly an hour each morning on the ladder and whoever had the least homework pitted the fruits in the afternoon so they could cook them to jam or freeze them.

Jeanne had offered to sell the excess in her flower shop, so when the cherry season was over they were left with 3 dozen jars of cherry jam (one dozen was already reserved to trade with Mary against strawberry jam) near 20 pounds of frozen cherries and 82 dollars.

Since Jeanne's customers really liked the fresh, home-grown fruits and they could use each buck they continued with the deal. They sold nearly all their pears and tomatoes (since they were hard to preserve), some of their peaches (since they wanted to keep them for themselves) almost 3 centner apples (which they had in abundance) and made all in all more than a thousand.

Money they could need extremely well, no matter how much their garden and hunting saved them, water and electricity cost a fortune, not to mention gasoline. Steven was forced to spend nearly half of his meagre income on fuel for his daily drive to the Muhlenburg hospital.

But it could have been worse, their families and friends helped them as good as they could, each to the best of their abilities.

Larry continued to help them with their renovation and gave them a tip regarding a meat market that was about to renovate and expand which got them a walk-in freeze about as big as three shower cubicles, complete with shelving, to the price of two regular freezers.

Given that they had planned on getting three, better four of them with how much harvest they were expecting from their garden that truly saved them a lot, plus now they could store uncarved meat too.

Mary helped by showing them how to conserve their fruits and vegetables the best, sharing with them the secrets from her grandma who had come from ranch people as well as her numerous delicious receipts.

Lori's mom was hard pressed for money herself putting her daughter to college on her own but gave them the old, never-been-used dinner service and cutlery she had once gotten to her wedding, both complete for twelve persons.

Merton found them a dishwasher and a couple of washing machines on an auction, all used hence cheap.

Tommy's parents who could afford the expense offered to buy them the missing kitchen appliances; they chose a large two-door fridge, two ovens (one normal sized and one extra-wide so that two frozen pizzas could lie side by side on the baking plate) and a big stove with six cooking plates as well as some pots and pans.

There was a short, bitter moment in the culinary department when Bob had asked, innocuous enough, what Merton's parents were going to contribute to their household, figuring that the owners of the largest car dealership around would of course help their eldest child to build up his new home by paying for some necessary items too.

However when the Goth had only blanched and Tommy had mouthed 'later' he had quickly changed to topic.

As their son later on gave them the gist of Merton's history with his parents they were both aghast, even Sally who was still far from befriending the Goth felt the sudden urge to hug the poor boy.

Thereby he hadn't even told his parents of the last, sad episode in this particular family drama, their reaction to Merton moving out.

Somehow, despite all of them carrying boxes and pieces of furniture out of the lair for several days the Dingles had managed to stay totally oblivious to what was going on, proving yet again how little they cared for everything concerning their only son.

Thus they had been knocked for six when Merton had one day entered the living room - triggering a nasty rant about what he was doing outside of his room, that he had no business up here and so on - which had stopped abruptly when he placed his keys on the coffee table, stating point black "I'm moving out."

The ensuing silence had been deafening until Becky, who deep inside still cared for her brother no matter what their parents said, had asked timidly "Where? I mean, you're not leaving the town, are you?"

Merton's gaze had softened as he'd looked at his kid sister, assuring her "No, I'm merely moving in with Tommy, Lori and the others, you can even come and visit us someday if you want…it's the old Morrison place, I bought it."

That was the exact moment the shit had hit the fan, the news that Merton had spend his money so that there was absolutely no more chance for them to get it into their greedy clutches had caused an incredible outburst of rage.

A worried Tommy had heard the yelling even out on the street where he'd been waiting for his beloved and had stormed into the house, just in time to stop Ron Dingle who'd looked as if he was about to beat Merton to a bloody pulp.

He'd quickly dragged the shaken Goth away, gritting his teeth against the overwhelming urge to give that bastard a dose of his own medicine.

Even in his state of shock Merton had seen the signs and managed to calm him down enough so that he wouldn't wolf out in front of witnesses.

Another rather violent outburst, this time from Lycantria's ultra conservatives, was the result of what should have been solely good news.

It started harmlessly enough; with Luke wanting to fetch his long time chat-buddy from where the connecting tunnel from Lycantria met the main land.

Said chat-buddy, Christine, had gotten her hair a bit wet in the damp subway and thus opened her usually ever-present braid so that the sea breeze could dry it.

What should have been no biggie; if not for the fact that Luke, the very moment he saw her with her long red hair blowing around her head, was hit by the sudden realization that this picture exactly matched his Lycanamora-vision.

_Her green eyes will look at you_

_Through a veil of dancing flames_

Back then not even Merton could have made sense of that description; did it mean that he should look for his mate near burning houses, or among fire-fighters? Burning red hair had never crossed their minds…but seeing Chris like this he had no doubt that it was her that was meant.

Luke wasn't even aware that he'd wolfed out, but Christine saw it and also heard his low, purring growl. She didn't understood what was going on - until the wind turned and carried his scent to her.

And for the first time ever did the scent of a male had an effect on her, the loner girl, who never dated and always hid behind her books and who everyone believed was meant to stay alone, although deep inside she too yearned to be loved and have children, just like everybody else. But her vision had shattered those dreams….

_To find true happiness_

_Follow your love for science_

Everyone, including herself, had thought that meant she was supposed to remain celibate, a bluestocking with few friends and no family, but now she began to think otherwise. Hadn't she found this male solely by following her love for science?

Without consciously deciding to do so Christine wolfed out too and started the same purring growl, the sound a wolf made to calm a potential mate. Completely driven by their instincts they drew nearer and started scenting each other, which soon increased to nipping, licking and finally kissing as their wolves strived to verify their assumption via taste.

As they parted for much needed air they were lying on the ground with tangled limbs, surrounded by the foreign yet so familiar scent of the other and near shivering with excitement.

They stared at each other in wonder, both smiling and clinging to the other, not daring to let go for fear of waking up from this wonderful dream. It took them quite a while to realize that they were indeed not dreaming, and lying on rather cold and hard ground to boot, so they reluctantly ended their embrace and got up.

To say Mary and Sam were surprised when they got to know the news would have been an understatement, but they both knew him good enough to recognise the way Luke looked at the girl. Mary hadn't seen her twin brother look so happy since before their parent's death.

Since they'd promised Tommy to introduce Christine to him and Sam and Mary were on vacation all four drove to Pleasantville right the next day.

Chris was awfully nervous, sure she knew Luke through their chats and through him his sister and her mate, but she knew very little about their alpha. What if he didn't approve of their union and forbid them to mate?

When they arrived in Pleasantville she was amazed at the friendly and relaxed atmosphere among the other wolves, back in Lycantria people always made sure that those around them exactly knew their rank and acted accordingly, but here she'd actually had trouble saying who their alpha was because no one stood out bossing the others around.

Moreover, they _all_ welcomed her with open arms and seemed genuinely pleased to meet her, delighted at the news that Luke had found his mate, it near overwhelmed her.

After dinner Chris sneaked out to catch some fresh air, already loving the large garden that blended seamlessly into the natural woods, though she didn't remain alone for long, one of the others had followed her.

It was the male who'd opened the door and first greeted them, with smudges of plaster all over him because, as he'd explained to them, he'd just finished building a fireplace.

"You don't have to act so afraid all the time you know, no one is going to bite your head off for just looking up every now and then."

Christine couldn't help but smile at his friendly teasing "I know, it's just…everything is so different here and…"

"You're scared to make a mistake, and that you won't be allowed to mate with Luke."

She nodded, somehow trusting this stranger.

"Don't worry, as I've already told Steven back then when he came to me because of Lori, if or rather when you mate is completely between you two, and I'm wishing you the best….as for making mistakes, all I ask of you is that you join our pack properly by submitting to me on the next full moon."

For a moment Chris was completely speechless, shocked at the realization that this guy was the alpha, then his words hit home…no demands, no tests or probationary period, he was going to accept her into his pack right away, just like that?

It was almost too good to be true…and it definitely explained why Steven never even tried to come back to Lycantria; things were truly different here – and much better.

Tommy could basically watch how her worries vanished and a bright, relieved smile began to dawn on her face. "Now that that's settled, how about we go inside again? It's getting rather chilly, and Mary's dessert smells just about ready."

"Sounds great!"

From that night on Chris was inwardly a member of Tommy's pack, her submitting merely a matter of form, as was Mary's question to get bitten.

No one was surprised at her request now that her sister-in-law had turned out to be a werewolf; they all had suspected that she had been merely waiting to see whom her twin would mate so that her and his kids would be of the same kind.

Given how much Mary and Sam had always wanted a big family she'd probably be pregnant before the year was over.

When he'd mailed Callisto to inform her about the latest developments Tommy had already suspected that Nepomuk and his buddies would blow a gasket, as they had done when they got to know of Shao, shocked to hear that he now had another 'breeding couple' aside from Steven and Lori which would have werewolf offspring.

This time however they were downright apoplectic with rage, accusing him of using Luke to lure a 'fertile female' away from them and into his pack and turning random people to increase his numbers.

Tommy only shook his head at their madness. "Chris was fated to become Luke's mate and Mary had already been a part of my pack for years as you know very well.

I think it's high time for you to come to terms with the facts; my pack won't be a flash in the pan, we're here to stay."

At that point Callisto had to end the connection for they were completely losing it, Tommy could have sworn that some even had foam at their mouths.

And those nutcases were Callisto's royal aide? He made a mental note that the next time they would speak in private he would strongly suggest replacing at least some of them with younger, more open-minded werewolves to her.

Luke wasn't the only one who found love that summer, while Tommy was busy fixing up his and Merton's quarters so they could move in before the new semester started his brother stumbled over a kindred spirit completely by accident.

What brought it about was a concurrence of two particular circumstances, namely a Dallas-marathon on TV and a heavy summer storm, the later causing a complete blackout right at the beginning of the last commercial break before it would be revealed who shot J.R.

A frantic Dean ran out of the house and saw only equally dark houses around – with one exception. The house at the corner still had light, and he could make out the telltale bluish flickering of a TV to boot.

Without thinking he stormed over and banged against the door until a chubby blonde with piercings opened. "Let me in, I need to know who shot J.R.!"

Every other person would have probably called the police to come and fetch the wacko but Vera only answered "OK, but hurry up, the commercial is about to end."

They watched the rest of the marathon together and Dean didn't even notice when the power returned because they were too busy discussing the differences between Dallas and Denver Clan. They ended up talking into the wee hours and Vera invited him to come over again to watch Lord of the Rings together.

She had a great sense of humour, made tasty snacks and loved the same series and movies like him, in short: Dean was in love.

Nevertheless, that blackout continued to bug him. He knew now that Vera still had had power because she owned a generator for such emergencies, as an independent IT-specialist working from home she couldn't risk her computers to crash during a power failure.

Dean knew the hospital had a generator as well, but what about the butcher, or the supermarket? A power outage meant an interruption in their cooling systems; meant God only knows how many pounds of spoiled goods and subsequently heavy financial losses that no insurance would cover.

And those blackouts happened several times each year especially during summer, basically every thunderstorm had Pleasantville and the surrounding towns go dark for hours.

Dean decided to read up on the subject, during the day when Vera was working, for somehow watching TV without her had become boring anyway.

Bob Dawkins nearly keeled over when he came to him and asked for access to the towns archive, he handed him the keys right away, inwardly praying that whatever miracle had motivated his oldest to leave the TV chair would last.

While reading his way through town council meeting protocols and the like Dean chatted with the secretaries and whoever else came along, he had a sympathetic ear for everyone's problems. Soon he was offering Solomonic advises, settling neighbourly quarrels or helping the elderly to fill out their forms on a daily basis, and found he liked it.

The mayor, who had watched this development from afar with growing amazement and delight, reacted by making him an ombudsman and turned a corner of the archive into a small bureau were people could come to and talk to him in private.

Who would have thought that a lifetime of watching talk shows and soap operas apparently had prepared Dean to deal with whatever problems people could have?

Just how serious he was about his newfound love for communal affairs became apparent on the next town council meeting, where Dean came forward with the proposal to buy a large emergency generator that could keep the vital businesses running without interruptions in case of another blackout.

He'd interviewed all the relevant shop owners – the butcher, the head of the local supermarket, the baker, to name but a few – and all agreed that it was a very good idea and, what was more, were willing to pay an extra fee for this service, enough to keep the generator up and running and even make a small profit.

The council was speechless "But how shall we finance the purchase of such a large generator, our budget is tight anyway, we don't have so much money to spare!"

"Yes you have; the money you got from selling the Morrison place is yet non-budgeted and you can easily get a good generator by spending only half of it.

Think of it as an investment in the future of our town, with such a service Pleasantville increases its attractivity for businesses, which in the long run means more jobs and also more taxes.

Granted, we'll always be a small town but it just irks me that everyone who wants to invest in our region goes to Muhlenburg."

He knew he had them with his last comment, reminding them of the old feud with Muhlenburg was the last straw. Pleasantville was fed up with being looked down at as a mere bedroom community of them by Muhlenburg for a long time and used every chance to outshine their big neighbour.

Usually on the football field, which was why neither Tommy nor any other team member of the Angry Badgers could walk through Muhlenburg after dark, especially near the sports complex where the Muhlenburg Moles trained.

After a brief discussing and looking over the calculations (which Vera had done with a special account costing program) the town council decided unanimously to pursue his plan.

Bob and Sally were bursting with pride and felt that a little celebration was in order at their oldest first political success. They invited Tommy and Merton for dinner and Dean decided that this was a good opportunity to introduce Vera to the family.

Granted his parents were a little shocked at first at the sight of her piercings but soon realized that this young woman was no punk but had to be really smart and quite a clever business woman to boot to be successfully self-employed at her age.

Besides they were just happy to see that Dean had finally found someone, and secretly glad that it was a woman meaning that they could still hope for grandkids after all.

Needless to say Vera and Merton hit it off right away when she asked him where he got his uber-cool gothic pentagram pendant and he used the chance to ask her advice on antivirus software for his computer.

Tommy found her to be a perfect match for his brother and promised to pass on the information that she was searching for an assistant to the nerds from the high school computer club, saving her the trouble to advertise in the local paper.

The evening progressed and Sally began grilling Vera about her family background and future plans – a sure sign that she had accepted her as potential daughter-in-law – while Tommy and Merton were giving Dean and Bob the skinny on the renovation of their quarters.

They'd finished building their fireplace, having decided on a rather huge model were one could roast peanuts and marshmallows in the winter with a broad mantel to put framed pictures on.

Merton had suggested closing the niche between the mantel and the window with a sort of self build fireside bench were they could store their firewood underneath.

Tommy had liked the idea but turned the small bench into the beginning of a large window seat running along the wall underneath the windows from where one had a great view into the garden.

"It's nothing special, basically just a long wooden bench that we painted white, but with some seat cushions on top it should be cosy, and Merton inherited a couple of old carved blanket boxes from his grandma which thus far a stored that we plan to put underneath."

"Nothing special! I could never take some two-by-fours and a bit of paint and turn it into a piece of furniture that looks just as good as something bought from a store, and don't even get me started on your ingenious solution for our tub!"

Tommy blushed a bit at his beloved's praise. "That was rather simple too; Larry helped with dividing the water supply line for the shower so that we have a second faucet in our bedroom.

I took some leftover stones from stonewalling the doorways and build a small pedestal, about half a foot high. Then I drilled a little hole through the bottom of the bathroom wall where our shower drain lies, just big enough for the pipe that we connected with the tub plug hole to fit through.

Thanks to the tub being raised the pipe is sloping and thus automatically drains into the shower plug hole."

Bob was impressed and also praised his son, thankfully mistaking the renewed blush as a reaction to his words.

Had he looked at Merton he would have seen the Goth was blushing even more furiously for both boys were remembering how they had christened their tub; what had started as merely bathing together had quickly gone out of hand and became so passionate it left puddles of splashed over water all over the floor.

Tommy cleared his throat "Another thing Lori's uncle helped us with was finding a welder who carefully enlarged the frame of our bed, now I can finally stretch without stubbing my toes at the wrought iron footboard."

"Speaking of Lori, when do her and Steven plan to finally marry? She told me she wants to apply for a traineeship at your mom's station and I know the boss, he's rather conservative and truly despises common law marriages. If they have a set date their engagement looks serious, which would increase her chances drastically."

"They plan to marry next summer after she's done with college and are already saving for a short honeymoon in Italy. By the way, did you know that our old Doc Baker has put out a few feelers to see whether Steven plans to stay in Pleasantville after his residency? And last week he asked him if he could see himself as a family physician."

"It's about time that he thinks about retiring, the man is pushing seventy! But so far he hadn't found someone he deems suited to become his successor… I wonder how he took notice of your friend."

"Well, it seems as if he likes Steven's gentle bedside manner, how he always takes his time to listen to people's worries and allay their fears."

"Yeah that fits, Doc Baker cares for his patients as if they were his family, he'd want to see them in good hands."

Later that year Steven's ability to soothe frantic patients was put through a severe test.

It was a cold winter night; the whole pack had gathered around the fireplace in Tommy's and Merton's living room and was enjoying the crackling flames as they had every evening since the temperature had dropped below freezing.

Not that the two minded, they kept additional blankets in the boxes underneath the window seat for everyone to cuddle into and enjoyed sitting on some old rugs in front of the fire drinking hot cocoa and roasting marshmallows together.

"Say Steven, about next summer, once Merton and I are done with college, how…I mean, what do we have to expect when we do this spell-thingy?"

"It's actually far more than one simple spell; it takes several weeks of preparations, lots of herbs and more than a few incantations, plus we have to wait for a special stellar constellation happening on a full moon night…. I've already checked the astral charts; there is one good date at the end of August which leaves us enough time to prepare you.

However I suggest that you start thinking up a good excuse where you'll be, people are bound to notice when you vanish for months, it would be the best if you start spreading a believable story before you 'go' instead of just disappearing."

The couple nodded and Tommy asked "Sounds logical, but what I meant was, how do we get Merton knocked up?" The Goth blushed heavily and Lori, who was pretending not to listen in on the conversation, choked on her cacao.

Steven however was looking at him oddly, with a frown on his face "Uh Tommy… _Merton_ won't be pregnant, you will."

More than one jaw hit the floor at this statement and the potential parents-to-be looked ready to faint so he continued; in his best calming voice "The old spells of Lycantria are powerful, but solely meant for werewolves. They wouldn't work on a human."

He took a sip of his cacao, mostly to give those two the time to compose themselves. Unsurprisingly it was Merton who, after a lot of blinking and gaping, swallowed hard and inquired "So, how _does_ it work?"

"The first thing you must understand is that the transformation into a wolf, as normal as it is for us, is in itself magic of the strongest kind. I mean think about it: we're a perfect blend between human and animal, able to shift between the vastly different shapes within seconds. No single spell could ever be that powerful.

Another peculiarity of werewolves is that no matter which form we're in, our hereditary factors remain the same. That means we can sire kids, or be impregnated, in all three forms - human, wolfed out and wolf - without it making a difference; our kids are born as werewolves just the same.

Now about those spells, as potent as they are, they can't impregnate a male - what they can do however is influence Tommy's normal transformation, so that he'll end up as a female wolf. But just for one night!" he hurried to add at seeing the alarmed look on his alpha's face.

"Just long enough for Merton to impregnate you…what, did you think the spells would take care of that? Magic can do a lot, but not conjure pups out of thin air." He chuckled at the Goth's wide-eyed look which quickly turned into a sheepish grin as Merton too started chuckling at his own stupidity. Of course their child would have to be sired.

"We'll know that it worked when you won't turn back fully into a human at sunrise but remain wolfed out. Actually, you won't be able to wolf down for the whole duration of the pregnancy but only be able to change between wolfed out and wolf, since it is your wolf side which supports the pregnancy."

Tommy, who was still rather pale and clutching Merton's hand as if it was his life line, stammered "How would I…I mean, uh…after the nine months are over…"

"How you would deliver?"

Tommy gave a shaky nod.

"That's rather simple; when it's time you'll automatically turn into a female wolf again and deliver in wolf form."

Merton's eyes lit up in understanding "So that's why this Nepomuk-guy wanted to check the size of Tommy's wolf form."

"Exactly, because even though the child will be born in wolf form too, the cub will have near the size of a human baby, plus your female form is bound to be a bit smaller and more slender than the male one you're used to.

Bottom line is, only if you're really big as a male, you'll be big enough as a female to give birth safely.

But don't worry Tommy, you're easily the biggest wolf I've ever seen, and in the extremely unlikely case that something goes wrong I'm perfectly capable to perform a C-section.

Also, please keep in mind that both you and the child have the increased healing rate of our kind, so that technically the whole birth is far less risky for you than a normal one is for a human woman."

Steven gave his best 'calm the terrified patient' smile to his still shell-shocked friend. "But that's nothing you've got to worry about right now; you're not even pregnant yet, in fact its still several month until we can try to get you knocked up, so why don't you consult your pillow, discuss the matter among yourselves, and if you have any questions you know where to find me, ok?"

The two nodded and wished the others a good night, though neither Tommy nor Merton got much sleep that night; there was just too much running through their heads.

All in all it took days for the news to sink in fully and for the two to realize all the implications.

Lying in each others arms in the privacy of their bedroom they talked for hours, being together as lovers and friends for years helped them to admit to their worries and insecurities.

Merton was scared to disappoint or even hurt his lover with his inexperience since he'd never topped before, and Tommy in return was nervous about having sex as a female, about how the foreign anatomy would feel.

"Just listen to us, mated for years and here we are sounding like two blushing virgins scared of their first time!" chuckled Tommy.

Merton blushed a bit but was grinning too "Well, there is some substance to that, we'll both be doing something we've never done before, and strictly speaking you'll be virginal in every sense of the word since your female body will be completely new and untouched."

Tommy snorted "No wonder, since I've never been a female before, and it's not like we can do a test run…except maybe…" he broke off, his ears turning red.

"Except what, Tommy?" asked Merton curiously.

"Uhm, well….we _could_ do a sort of test run, not with me as a female, mind you, but…with you topping."

Merton's eyes flew open and he could only gape speechlessly at a now furiously blushing Tommy.

"I mean, it wouldn't be the same of course, but you could…uh...gather some experience, and I would see what its like to have someone inside me." Damn, his face felt like it was on fire!

Merton got to admit, the more he thought about it the less shocking did it sound, if anything he was rather...intrigued. "I would say it's an interesting idea."

He swallowed nervously at Tommy's look, hoping he didn't sound as eager as he felt for he didn't mean to pressure his lover in the slightest. "Maybe after we return from our trip?"

Tommy smiled; glad that his suggest hadn't scared Merton, and nodded. "Deal."

The cuddled together, both thinking exactly the same: if only they hadn't have to get up really early tomorrow morning for their annual Christmas-trip to Sam, Mary, Luke and Chris…

Admit it folks, none of you saw that one coming!

Yep, I'm evil…and sorry for ending here, but the chapter was already long enough….but don't you worry, you get to see Tommy bottoming in the next chapter.

What else? Hm, let's see… Merton will – more or less accidentally – launch a career, they'll make a baby _and_ tell the good news to the thunderstruck grandparents-to-be.

Popcorn moments galore! But first: review please!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

Note: I know it's been _way_ too long, blame the bastard who dropped a beverage crate on my right hand – two metacarpals and most of my fingers are fractured. Trust me, typing one-handed AND left-handed sucks big time! Two more weeks until the cast comes off - I´m already counting the days, stupid thing is itching like mad – nevertheless I'll try to get the new chapter done as soon as possible…maybe I can get a friend to type for me.

Thanks to my great reviewers: dark flame dragon, dragonmagik, lycanbride, necrophile, 66Witch, ryu433, ShadowWolfDagger, Solana, moonellen, twistedsister emogirl, Damej, Bubbles and last but not least utashema231, who left the best review I've ever got – I´m still blushing just thinking about it.

Also, I´m glad that you're not too put off because I made Tommy the pregnant one, it's simply more logical for me that way, plus Merton has already enough 'mood swings' as it is, add pregnancy hormones and the pack wouldn't survive it ;-) Moreover, I wanted Tommy to be the emotional and vulnerable for a change and have Merton care for him, partly to make their relationship more balanced and partly…not telling yet. However, once the kid is born Tommy will be the big strong male again and Merton will take the mother's role.

Warning: Hints of bestiality in this chapter – nothing too graphic, but if you don't want to read it, skip the paragraphs after Tommy transforms into a female wolf and go right to the pillow talk afterwards.

11. Chapter

The trip to their friends was great as always, with lots of laughter and tasty food.

As expected Mary was pregnant, already five months along actually, her and Sam really hadn't wasted any time.

For Tommy, looking at her swollen belly felt truly weird, knowing that by next years Christmastime it would be _him_ who had a bun in the oven. But seeing how she was all but glowing from the inside with happiness, the soft smiles her and Sam shared whenever he caressed her bump lovingly awakened a previously unknown longing inside of Tommy.

He found himself yearning to share moments like this with Merton, and from the wishful way the Goth was looking at the couple before turning to smile at him, his mate felt the same.

And suddenly becoming pregnant didn't seem that scary anymore, he was even starting to look forward to it a little.

Christine and Luke were mated now too, and going by how they were chasing each other playfully through the underbrush when the pack was running on all fours under the full moon one could tell how happy they were.

Tommy was glad to see how well Chris had settled in, not only as a part of his pack with Luke, Sam and Mary as her new family but also in the human world.

She was clearly enjoying life away from Lycantria and its restrictions; the beaming, energetic woman greeting them with the others at the station was not a patch on the timid redhead Luke had introduced them to a few months ago.

Though as nice as it was to see everyone again and chat in front of the fireplace deep into the night, both Tommy and Merton were secretly impatient to get home again.

They couldn't wait to follow through with Tommy's idea of swapping places for a change.

They didn't even take the time to unpack, once they were back in their lair Tommy and Merton basically ripped each others clothes off as the thrill of anticipation that's been running through them for days was reaching its peak.

Kissing deeply they stumbled to the bed and laid down, Merton came to be on top of Tommy and reluctantly broke their kiss in favour of trailing little nips and licks down his lovers chest.

He took his time to nibble and suck at Tommy's nipples the way he knew he liked it while his hands were busy kneading his lover's balls but purposely avoiding his cock until the werewolf was nearly sobbing with need. Only then did Merton stop and quickly coated his fingers with lube before going down on him.

Tommy was so lost in the wonderful sensation that he barely noticed how first one, the two fingers breached his entrance.

So far, this was nothing new; Merton had occasionally added a finger or two while sucking him off to stimulate his prostate which he'd always enjoyed. But when a third finger was added and all three continued to scissor and probe as deeply as possible there was an undeniable twinge of pain and Tommy had to fight to stay relaxed.

Soon though the pleasure washed the pain away and he was almost disappointed when Merton removed his fingers but turned around and got on his hands and knees nonetheless.

They'd talked about this beforehand and agreed that this would be the best position, granted Merton as a seasoned pro could easily take it against the wall or bend over his desk and enjoy himself but for a novice classic doggy-style would be the easiest.

At least in theory, practically though Tommy couldn't help but tense up the moment Merton got in position. They tried everything, from calming Tibetan breathing techniques to more stretching and lube, but as eager as his ass swallowed Merton's fingers, as vehemently denied it the access of his cock.

Merton was slowly but surely getting desperate as was Tommy himself, he just couldn't understand it, no matter how much he wanted this, his entrance always snapped shut before Merton's cock came even near it.

Eventually the Goth was ready to call it quits and dropped down on his back beside Tommy, torn between frustration and self-reproach, sure that this had to be his fault for being unable to prepare his lover appropriately.

Tommy sighed; he hated to see Merton beating himself up. "Stop this, if anyone's to blame it's me…I just can't help it, the moment we try something in me growls 'wrong'."

He straddled his depressed lover and kissed him deeply, in doing so Merton's stiff cock brushed his backside and oh wonder, this time he didn't tensed up!

Without wasting time to question this miracle Tommy sat up, grabbed Merton's cock and, holding it in position, lowered himself all the way. He panted and waited for his body to adjust while he fought not to chuckle at Merton's utterly stunned expression.

After a while he dared to shift a bit, and that was when he realised it. "I think I know now what went wrong before and why, my wolf simply can't stand to get mounted. Though it doesn't matter so much who enters whom, but who's in control."

Merton groaned "But of course! I can't believe I didn't see it before, I mean you're an alpha male, naturally he wouldn't…"A kiss interrupted him.

"You know what they say about hindsight and all, however the problem is solved now and that's all that matters. Now, how about we skip the talking and get back to the loving, hm?"

The question was accompanied by a sensual roll of hips that made both moan and Merton gasped "Be my guest" before pulling him down into a deep kiss.

Tommy continued to roll his hips and simultaneously began to rise and lower himself. He couldn't believe how good it felt to have Merton inside of him, to feel his every move so deep inside, his cock nudging his spot so infinitely better than just his fingers.

He moaned "Damn, we should have tried this ages ago!"

An affirming whimper was all the answer he got and Tommy grinned at how close to loosing it Merton already was.

Since he didn't wished to be left behind he started stroking his own cock rapidly, not holding it against Merton that he was forgetting about him for once but relishing how his beloved's breath hitched whenever he clenched around him.

He increased the tempo of his hips pumping up and down and suddenly Merton came with an inarticulate cry, bucking uncontrollably under him, right into Tommy's prostate which set him off as well.

He collapsed onto Merton's chest, momentarily too dazed to roll over. But eventually he did, slightly wincing as Merton's cock slipped free.

"Tommy? Are you ok, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Nope, just a bit sore…so…how did you like it?"

"It was ok I guess…"

Tommy raised an eyebrow incredulously and Merton blushed "Ok, it was great, but…I wouldn't forego our usual way for it."

"Me neither, but every once in a while…"

The Goth smiled shyly and nodded, cuddling against his beloved and obviously settling down for a little nap, but Tommy had one last question. "Say Merton, we talked about you being on top and me being a female but…what about me being a wolf?"

A sleepy Merton looked up in surprise, but he could see that this was truly worrying Tommy. "It doesn't bother me, honestly…I mean, it's still _you_."

Tommy was amazed, Merton said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and he could see he was really meaning it. So he kissed his yawning mate and soon joined him in dreamland.

Spring break was a busy time for all, Lori who was in the middle of planning her and Steven's upcoming wedding was trying – and failing – to convince her mother that she didn't want a big traditional affair with her in a white dress and her second degree cousins as flower girls and the like.

The blonde won the discussion in the end; after her mom had dragged her into a bridal boutique to pick her wedding dress prompting Lori to threaten she'd rather elope than marry in one of those 'frilly lace monstrosities'.

Rock of course got his hands full to plant this year's vegetable garden, and secretly busy preparing a surprise for his wife for their first anniversary.

Shao was meanwhile helping out his mother at the flower shop dealing with the increased business around Valentine's Day and spring in general.

Merton was busy too, though far away from Pleasantville, it was time to extend the loan deal for the collection and he had to fly to San Francisco for the proceedings.

Since the library was paying not only for his ticket but for a room too anyway Tommy accompanied him, both figuring this was a good chance to have a nice holiday together at little cost.

Besides, the jock had always wanted to see the 49ers live and who knew when they had the chance to go on a vacation again once they'd have a family and steady jobs and so on.

Even Sally had to admit to this, though the twitch of her left eye along with her frozen smile told volumes about what she thought of her son visiting what was basically the gay capital of the world.

Tommy and Merton thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and anonymity of the city, being able to hold hands and kiss in broad day light with no one around them batting an eye or the danger to get recognised by someone.

They fed seagulls on the beach and ate shrimps at Fisherman's Wharf, made tons of pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge and other sights for their friends and families at home and even found a Japanese stone lantern for Rock and his surprise.

All in all it were wonderful days for the two and they were inseparable, except for the day Merton had to meet with the representatives of the foundation and wanted to visit their library afterwards, time which Tommy used to go to see a game, that way both got what they wanted and wouldn't bore the other to death.

Merton loved the huge old library the moment he entered; he couldn't wait to check out the vast occultism section and search for information on werewolves.

The negotiations were easy and over very quickly, basically they just extended the validity of the old contract. The only tiny problem had been when the old hag of a secretary wouldn't let him in because she refused to believe that this gothic stripling had an appointment with the library's foundation council, but her shocked slaw-jacked expression when her boss welcomed him enthusiastically more than made up for it.

Afterwards Merton went to do some research just as planned and was soon surrounded by lots of dusty old tomes. He was so engrossed in fact that he didn't notice that someone was watching him, until that someone addressed him.

"Werewolves? That's kind of an unusual subject to study."

Merton gaped at the stranger, his thoughts racing 'who is this guy? I can't let him become suspicious. Think, Merton, think!' "Uh, yeah, it's research for a book I want to write."

"Really? What it is about, aside from werewolves, I mean."

Merton blinked 'damn this dude is persistent' and quickly cooked up some half-baked plot to satisfy the nosy man.

"Sounds interesting….send me a copy when you're done writing it, ok?" The stranger handed him his card and left.

Only out of curiosity did Merton bother to look at the business card of this weirdo instead of instantly throwing it away and his eyes became huge. He'd just been talking to a publisher.

Merton gaped at the card in his hands for several minutes; then he snapped back to reality and, quickly grabbing a pen, began to jot down the plotline he'd been telling the guy.

He didn't raise his hopes up too high, but he wasn't so stupid to pass up what could be a great opportunity either. He'd always wanted to write a book anyway, why not one about a werewolf?

They did return to Pleasantville a couple of days later, and no matter how great the big city had been both were happy to be at home again.

Rock was nearly done with planting their vegetable garden; having prepared the ground already weeks ago once the frost was gone with loads of compost was saving him time now. He'd decided to add some more pumpkins this year since they'd been a bestseller last Halloween, plus some strawberries which he planted right between the fruit trees where some wood strawberries where already growing wild.

His surprise was already almost finished too, and the lamp Tommy and Merton had brought him was just the icing of the cake. He hoped Shao would like what he'd created for her.

On the day of their first anniversary Rock led a blindfolded Shao towards the pond where the others had already set up a picnic for just the two of them. He removed the blindfold and kept his gaze on her face, not wanting to miss a single change in her expression.

Her eyes widened in astonishment before a delighted smile dawned on her face. Shao was near tears of joy as she threw herself into his arms "Thank you…it's so…beautiful" she stammered, at a loss for words.

"I'm glad you like it."

They sat down on the stone bench underneath the weeping willow he'd made form the last left-over stones from stonewalling and looked out onto the pond, where water lilies and lotus flowers were floating serenely across the surface.

A bit to the side stood the traditional stone lantern in front of a cluster of bamboo, a candle already inside to be lit later on and spread a soft glow over the scene come nightfall.

Reeds and bulrush grew at the waterline along with blue flag and if one looked close enough one could catch sight of the fishes swimming in the depth.

Ok, so he'd opted for goldfishes instead of real koi, they were easier to care for plus _way_ cheaper. Rock had nearly keeled over when he got to know that a handful of those fish would have cost him a few months' salary.

Given Shao's overjoyed expression she couldn't care less which sort of fish were swimming in the pond, what mattered was that her wonderful mate and husband had gone to such length to create a piece of her old home for her here in her new.

For as much as she loved her second home she'd never forget her roots, which is why she'd spent several days last winter to paint a stunning image of the Fuji on a wall in their living room and a framed picture of her parents – the only one of her father she had – held a place of honour among their collection of family pictures on the dresser right beside one of Rock's late father.

Shifting her gaze from the pond to her beloved Shao suddenly wasn't scared anymore to tell him the news she'd gotten only yesterday. "I have a gift for you too, though I can't give it to you yet...although technically I'm carrying it with me right now. You'll have to be patient for another seven months or so."

She watched with bated breath how the confusion in Rock's face gave way to understanding and shock before a wide smile lit up his whole face. "That's…wow…are you really sure? I mean, sure you're sure, but I know you're on the pill and…"

Shao laughed; she couldn't help it, her big, strong and usually rather quiet mate babbled so excitedly that he started to sound like Merton. "Yes I'm sure, Steven examined me yesterday.

Apparently the pill isn't as reliable for female werewolves as it is for human women….come to think of it, I guess I better warn Luke and Chris about this before they too are in for a big surpri…" here she had to break of because Rock pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. Howling his joy to the heavens he spun her around.

The others back inside the house heard his joyful howls and wondered what was going on, except Steven of course. He merely smiled but kept his mouth shut, figuring it wasn't his news to tell.

Spring turned into summer and with it came their finals. After lots of learning, swearing and quite a few sleepless nights they all graduated, Merton who had worried the most, with honours.

Steven was done with his internship as well and would soon start to take over the praxis of Doc Baker, though not completely. The elder physician would still continue to help out in the praxis for a couple of hours a day – as much as his strength allowed – so that Steven could focus on making the more taxing house calls and he wouldn't loose the contact with his 'family' completely.

It truly was a win-win situation, the old Doc who had delivered most of his patients and sometimes even already their parents could teach him more about the people and their sicknesses than their medical chart ever could and Steven would never have to worry about finding a vacation replacement, like during his upcoming honeymoon.

The wedding was a quiet, 'closest family and friends only'- affair in their garden, which meant the pack and Lori's family seeing as Steven had no family left beside Callisto who had broken her leg and was therefore unfit to travel.

The blonde surprised her friends a bit when she wanted to invite, aside from her mum and her uncle, her uncle's friend Manny too.

Larry flushed violently when she told him to bring his buddy as well and started stammering something about 'just being friends' but she merely smiled. "Of course you are just friends - the same kind of best friends as Tommy and Merton."

Larry's mouth dropped open and the pack realised what was going on. Lori went to hug him. "You two have always been there for me and mom after a certain asshole flew the coop and have more rights to call yourselves my dad than he ever had, which is why I want you _both_ there… plus the house is that far-off you don't have to worry about being seen and can be just a normal couple for a few hours."

The elder man had actually tears in his eyes at her words but threw the rest of them a cautious look, though instead of disdain and refusal as he'd feared he only found friendly smiles and acceptance, Tommy even went so far to pull Merton demonstratively into his arms and gave him a quick kiss, followed by a wink towards Larry.

"We know how hard it is to hide from everyone around you, it's one of the main reasons we bought this remote house. You two are always welcome to visit us whenever you feel you need to have a break and just be yourself for a while."

Thus both Larry _and_ Manny were present on the afternoon Lori in her peach-coloured satin dress – the only one she owned - walked towards Steven who was waiting for her under an arbour adorned with the same yellow roses that she wore in her hair instead of a bridal bouquet.

The wedding registrar who'd already wed Rock and Shao did the ceremony and quickly bid his goodbye afterwards, luckily more eager to call it a day than to scrounge a piece of the wedding cake so that they could celebrate among themselves.

Lori and Steven cut the cake together, her mom finally stopped crying to take yet more pictures and after everyone including Sparky eventually had his fill on the cake it was time for the presents.

Larry and Manny, who knew of their honeymoon plans, surprised them with two return tickets to Florence.

Lori's mom got them a gift certificate from a local furniture store as a wedding present, knowing they were in dire need of a new couch.

Both presents were highly appreciated, for even though Steven would soon be making more than during his internship they were far from rolling in dough, and now they were able to prolong their honeymoon for a few days.

Rock and the others who were equally short of money gave them a bunch of coupons for things like 'doing your laundry', 'taking over kitchen/cleaning duty' and the like which made especially Lori grin, for she genuinely hated housework.

Steven however was looking forward the most to using Tommy's and Merton's coupons for 'a few hours in our tub undisturbed without having to clean up afterwards' because ever since he'd seen that huge monstrosity he'd wanted to try it out with his mate…he could already see them kissing while floating in lavender-scented foam, surrounded by a dozen candles.

While the couple was on their honeymoon Tommy had a talk with coach Henley from the high school football team whom he'd been helping out ever since his heart-attack nearly two years ago.

The elder man was pushing sixty and had been thinking about going into early retirement and moving to where his daughter lived for quite some time, but he didn't want to go before he hadn't found someone to take over for him who would take good care of his boys.

He thought he'd found the perfect candidate in Tommy Dawkins who loved the sport, had played actively himself for years and got along with everyone in the team really well plus he'd hinted in the past that he planned to stay in Pleasantville and not run off to the big cities like so many young people.

And now that the young man was done studying and was a certificated teacher for sports and English he found it was time to make a real job of it.

The talk didn't went as smoothly as he'd hoped, although Tommy agreed to take over for Henley he told him he couldn't do so right away because he planned a long backpacking holiday through Europe, apparently a gift from his parents to his graduation.

He could understand the kid, one last big trip before settling down for good, and he'd even been so thoughtful to find a good replacement until his return: that huge defence-player Rock Johnson. Oh well, seemed as if his daughter would have to wait one more year for her no-cost babysitter.

Tommy was glad that the coach bought his story and wasn't angry that he would be away for several months on his 'hiking trip'.

Thankfully his parents had agreed to confirm the part about the 'graduation gift' if anyone asked, though he hadn't told them yet why he needed an excuse to be away for that long which had them worried quite a bit, but he didn't want to raise false hopes in case something went wrong.

However Merton and he planned to inform his parents the first thing once their plan had worked and he was pregnant.

It was getting less and less weird for Tommy to think and talk about his upcoming pregnancy, sure he still had short moments of panic picturing himself waddling, big with child and with swollen ankles but all in all he was coping rather well.

Maybe because watching Shao was giving him a good idea of what to expect, and that didn't seem as scary as he'd feared.

No morning sickness, no mood swings, only some really weird food cravings, although according to Merton algae and seaweed weren't uncommon in the Japanese cuisine so maybe her cravings weren't that crazy at all….though he highly doubted that eating slices of dried algae like nachos, dipping them into a mix of steamed apples, onions and fish(!) was considered normal, even by Japanese standards.

Nevertheless, seemed as if either werewolves were having far less trouble being pregnant than humans or Dean's favourite TV series totally exaggerated and puking your guts out for months on end and going into hysterics thrice daily wasn't the usual thing.

As soon as the newlyweds were back from their honeymoon Steven began to prepare Tommy for things to come.

He truly hadn't been kidding when he'd told them it would take _lots_ of incantations and herbs, Tommy was forced to drink awfully smelling – and even worse tasting – concoctions made from lord knew what several times daily for weeks.

On the full moon night before the one they would be using him and Merton went alone into the woods, armed with a good dose of Lycanamora herbs to send him into trance, far away enough so that the smell wouldn't influence the others.

He was supposed to inform his inner wolf about their plans so he would work with them and not panic once the magic began to affect him for the spells wouldn't work properly if his wolf was struggling against them.

Tommy easily fell into trance after Merton had lit the herbs and, like in his first vision, found himself on the cliff above the little lake where his wolf was already waiting for him.

"There's something important I've got to tell you…" The animal looked at him curiously

"You see, Merton and I want to have kids, uh cubs, but since we're both guys…however there's this weird old spell-thingy that can help us - if you're in, that is."

Tommy wasn't sure if the animal understood him word for word but he'd seen how its eyes lit up at the mention of cubs and he was still wagging his tail enthusiastically.

The wolf came nearer, looked deep into his eyes, and suddenly Tommy saw a picture before his mind's eye: his pack, all in wolf form, and in their midst was a handful of cute furballs playing, chasing each others tails under the watchful eyes of their loving parents.

The image faded as quickly as it had appeared but Tommy understood nonetheless; opening his eyes he smiled at his mate "He's just as eager to have kids as we are."

Then he collapsed, utterly exhausted from the experience. Merton, who had expected this, cuddled up beside him, knowing his beloved needed to rest a bit before they could make their way back home.

During the last four weeks Tommy wasn't allowed to wolf out at all to save up his transforming energy for the big night. In addition there were rituals on every quarter moon which meant for him to spend the entire night out 'moon-bathing' while Steven chanted something and smeared dozens of runes with a smelly salve onto his naked skin.

A part of him wanted to scoff and make fun of it, but he could _feel_ how the magic of the ritual made his skin tingle as if on the verge of wolfing out. The runes seemed to be pulsating on his skin and he could have _sworn_ he felt them seeping into him; he was almost surprised to see that they washed off completely in the mornings.

After the last of these rituals on the waxing gibbous moon Tommy's skin was itching constantly and he had to fight hard against scratching himself bloody.

But what was truly driving him insane: for this last week he and Merton were supposed to stay completely abstinent, they weren't even allowed to kiss!

Just cuddling and sleeping in each others arms but nothing more; by the time the seven days were over both were ready to go up the wall from sexual frustration but at least it distracted them from worrying about what was to come.

On the destined evening Steven led them towards the pond where the others had prepared them a bed made form blankets and cushions for they needed to be fully exposed to the light of the full moon for this.

He handed Tommy one last pot of herbal juice which looked and tasted suspiciously blood-like and lit copious amounts of incense.

The sweet smell of the smouldering resins, dried flowers, leaves and roots wafted around them in billows and Tommy groaned as the itching increased tenfold. Only seconds later he felt a shift in the air; the moon was rising and his wolf all but exploded forth, never before had he wolfed out that quickly.

Tommy didn't hear how Steven wished them good luck before leaving them alone; in fact he wasn't aware of their surroundings at all anymore. All he could see and smell was his mate as he all but pounced on him to add taste to the mix. Merton returned the kiss with equal fervour as all the pent-up tension from the last days was exacting its toll.

Soon they were both naked and writhing on the blankets, all but forgetting about what they were supposed to do, they only remembered where they were – and why – when Tommy started blindly groping for lube and couldn't find any.

The shock cut through his lust-fogged mind and brought him down to earth with a rather hard bump but a soft hand caressing his cheek stopped him from panicking.

"Don't be afraid, I promise I'll be gentle."

Tommy swallowed and nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me…I do trust you." To prove his point, he took one last deep breath and transformed.

Merton watched in awe as the magic did its work and his beloved didn't change into his well-known wolf form but a completely new one, a bit smaller, definitely more slender and almost purely silver in colour. He stared at the she-wolf, completely mesmerized by its beauty, and began petting it with a dreamy expression until an impatient whine broke the spell.

"Uh…yeah, sorry, I got carried away…damn, I wish I'd got a camera, your so…" Merton forgot what he was about to say as the animal nuzzled him lovingly before turning around and lowering her head onto her forepaws while raising her tail high in the air, fully exposing her privates.

For a moment he could only gape at the blatant display but then he remembered what Steven had said after they'd told him of their 'rehearsal': that, along with the female body, Tommy would also get the mating instincts of a she-wolf, moreover a she-wolf in heat. In other words, he would not only be totally ok with getting mounted but downright _craving _ it.

It was Merton's turn to swallow nervously as he carefully probed the proffered opening to see if his beloved was ready, he found it to be really wet and far more pliant then what he was used to, obviously they wouldn't need their usual stretching routine.

This, along with a needy whine and eager treading of the she-wolf, convinced him and after tucking its meanwhile trashing tail underneath one arm he carefully entered the foreign body.

And somehow, suddenly this all felt right; so what if the body looked different from what he was used to, the sounds his beloved made were definitely the same. Merton would have recognised those breathless yips and happy little yelps anywhere, it made him look past the fur and see his Tommy.

The realisation lifted a big weight of his shoulders and he increased his tempo, finally able to truly enjoy this encounter, and leaned forward to pet his beloved's chest, for if the she-wolf's body was wired like Tommy's he knew what to do to push it over the edge.

His suspicion was confirmed as he found what he'd been looking for, dragging his blunt human nails across the animal's teats provoked a surprised yelp that soon turned into a long drawn-out howl as the she-wolf started to tremble beneath him.

Merton added his own scream as his cock was gripped by her convulsing inner muscles which created a wonderful suction that made him come instantly. He collapsed beside the animal, panting and struggling to catch his breath while Tommy stayed in wolf form for a moment longer before changing back and collapsing as well.

"Are you ok? I mean, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Na, I'm good, never been better…damn, I'm never making jokes about randy dogs again, I swear the moment I was transformed I felt like I would go crazy if I didn't get fucked _right away_."

"Yeah, I kinda got the hint….what is wrong?" asked Merton worriedly as he saw an odd look cross Tommy's face.

"Nothing, it's just…your, uh _stuff_… I mean, it should be leaking out of me by now, but it's not, it's like it's gone somehow…" he broke of, utterly embarrassed.

Merton frowned "Well, I guess it does make sense that nothing is dripping out since the, uh _place _ it went into isn't there anymore either…but it's still inside you, probably somewhere in your lower abdomen."

Tommy looked stunned "You mean…I could already be getting pregnant, right now, as we speak?"

"Yes." As if on cue, both stared at Tommy's stomach like it was an absolute miracle.

"However, maybe we should do it once more, just to be sure…" suggested a blushing Merton.

Tommy grinned "Just once? Why, the night is still young…" he all but purred and started to nibble on Merton's neck.

"Maybe we really should be a bit more thorough…" gasped the Goth.

"We should, absolutely."

What followed was their second - though definitely not last - round for the night.

Several hours later, the grey twilight of the dawn found them completely exhausted and dog-tired, yet both were fighting against falling asleep. They simply had to know if their plan had worked, if they already were parents-to-be.

Steven's approach jolted them awake after momentary nodding off; he too looked tired but also very happy. "Congratulations you two; the moon has set a couple of minutes ago."

It took their sleep-deprived brains a few moments to process what he'd said, but then they too started beaming. A still very much wolfed-out Tommy pulled his mate into a bone-crushing hug. "We did it Mert; we're going to have a family."

Merton could only nod happily, momentarily unable to speak but with tears of joy shimmering in his eyes.

A loud yawn interrupted the moment "Sorry, it's just…I couldn't sleep either last night, I was way too nervous."

Tommy smiled at his friend "How about we all go inside and catch some serious Z's, there's still time to celebrate later on when we're not dead on our feet anymore."

While the three slowly made their way back towards the house Tommy suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way Steven, what was in that juice? I swear it tasted just like blood."

"Well, there was some blood in it…the ritual required blood from either a related werewolf or a 'magical creature of canine origin'.

Since none of your blood-relatives are werewolves I took a few drops of every pack-member, including Sam, Mary, Luke and Chris who send theirs via courier to the praxis in disguise of blood samples for a blood test.

Just to be sure, I added a few drops from Sparky, who should still qualify as 'magical' even though he's lost most of his powers after being exorcised.

Actually, that part of the instructions was rather vague; there was no definition whatsoever of what passes off as 'magical creature' or what is meant with 'canine origins'. When I asked Nepomuk about it he was incredibly tight-lipped and feigned complete ignorance although he as ceremonial high priest must know...personally I think he hopes we would fail."

Tommy snorted "That figures…I'm already looking forward to dash his hopes." His slightly mischievous grin was answered by Merton's snickers and Steven's chuckles.

Later that day, Tommy gave his parents a call to ask them in for afternoon coffee at whatever time they liked. Given that Bob and Sally were anxious to finally get to know what was going on they agreed to come over the same day and cancelled their other appointments.

Merton answered the door and welcomed them in, leading them towards the terrace were a table was set with coffee cups and some deliciously smelling cherry muffins.

Despite the alluring prospect both stopped short at the sight of their wolfed out son who was waiting for them.

Tommy greeted them with a smile, as usual ignoring how his mom grew a few shades paler and visibly fought not to shrink from him when she saw him like this.

His dad, who was more irritated then frightened asked "Uh Tommy, is there a special reason that you're like this right now? I mean, it's broad daylight and there's no danger around, right?"

"No, everything is fine" assured the werewolf his father "However, this is part of the reason I wanted to talk to you, you see due to certain circumstances I won't be able to wolf down for several months, which is why I needed you to confirm the story about my long 'hiking trip' to have an alibi.

After all, people are bound to get curious or even suspicious if I disappear for so long, and you know how bad the gossip is in our small town, in the end they think I'm doing time."

"That would be disastrous for our family's reputation!" exclaimed Sally, finally snapping out of her shock, and continued worriedly "But why are you stuck like this for so long, you're not sick, are you?"

"No mom, I'm ok…actually I'm better than ok, I'm deliriously happy."

"We both are, and we have the best, most awesome news for you – though you might want to sit down first for it's bound to come as quite a stunner." suggested Merton, who was beaming as much as Tommy. Both were all but fidgeting in their chairs; clearly impatient to share their good news and looking as if they were about to be bursting with joy.

Bob and Sally sat down opposite to the younger couple and looked expectantly at their son.

Tommy cleared his throat, took a deep breath and said "I'm pregnant."

Sally blinked slowly, her expression frozen, while Bob was gaping slack-jawed at his son. The ensuing silence was deafening, for several minutes all one could hear were the faint sounds of hammering from the upper floor of the house where the others had started with renovating what would become their guestrooms.

Finally Tommy couldn't stand it anymore "I know it sounds crazy and it still feels weird to say it but its true, Merton and I are having a baby."

"B-but…how?" stammered Bob while Sally was still too shocked to react in any way.

"That's rather complicated, but to put it in a nutshell: thanks to some weird, age-old spells and other magical mumbo-jumbo it was possible to turn my inner wolf temporary into a female, which could get knocked up, and since it's the wolf-part of me that's carrying the little one I'm stuck like this for the whole nine months."

"Wow…that means you're really…that's amazing! Sally, we're going to be grandparents!"

A widely smiling Bob turned to his wife, who was still completely rigid. "Oh my…I think the shock was a bit too much for her, I better bring her home and give her a couple of her tranks…but i´m sure, once she has recovered she'll be just as happy as I am!"

Tommy helped his father to get Sally back inside the car and continued to gaze after them until they passed from his view.

He was glad to see how positively his dad had reacted but was worried about his mom, what if she didn't accept his child because of the unusual way it had been conceived?

Past experience had told him how ruthless and downright cruel Sally could be when moving in on someone or something she thought was 'wrong', he wouldn't allow her to put his child through the same antics she had tried with Merton.

He would keep a very close eye on her, and if push came to shove he wouldn't miss a beat breaking off the contact with his mom to protect his child.

For now though, he would keep on hoping for the best.

Will Sally overcome her shock? How will Nepomuk react when he hears that Tommy managed to get pregnant although he did his best to be as unhelpful as he could?

And how will Tommy cope with being pregnant?

All that and more in my next chapter – but first: please leave a review!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own….oh what the hell; no one is reading this anyway.

Thanks for all your great reviews: spanderfan, Ke13, necrophile, Lycanbride, moonellen, utashema231, Damej, ShadowWolfDagger and 66Witch

To Damej: Thanks for your tips, and about your suggest/concern: Don't worry, technically the pack is already split since Luke, Sam, Mary and Chris are living several hours away, plus the surrounding area of Pleasantville is really wooded – even if someone catches a glimpse they'd think it was a real wolf. Though of course in the long run, meaning when the soon-to-be-born pups are grown up, at least some of them will leave and found new 'satellite-packs'.

12. Chapter

Tommy sighed; he was barely four weeks along and already felt like going insane.

Not only because he still had to drink those awful herbal juices which frequently increased the mild case of morning sickness he was suffering from to violent dry heaving, but mostly because he was banned from any kind of manual labour.

How could he just sit aside and watch how Steven and Rock struggled to renovate their future guest-wing all alone and beside their regular work to boot? Heck, he wasn't even allowed to help an equally full-time working Lori and a meanwhile waddling Shao doing the heavier housework!

But Steven had been adamant; since his whole bodily frame wasn't truly made to be pregnant Tommy had a far higher risk of miscarrying and even such a slight strain as carrying a heavy basket full of wet laundry could prove to be fatal.

Thus he was currently dusting Merton's bookshelves - for the second time that week already - and tried to ignore the sounds of hammering from above.

He yearned for nightfall when he could transform into his wolf form and run through the woods, it was currently the only thing that kept him from going stir-crazy and about the only exercise he was allowed to have, although he always had to take either one of the other werewolves or Sparky with him, just in case.

His biggest support though was Merton; he never lost his patience when Tommy was getting grumpy from feeling cooped up and gently held him when he nauseous, stroking him and calming him down much like he'd done way back when he had still problems not to loose control and wolf out in public.

And he was always still awake and waiting for him when Tommy came back from his nightly run, no matter how late he got, claiming he couldn't sleep alone anyway and was using the much appreciated alone time to work on his book undisturbed….though his big yawns told another story.

Tommy smiled, one of his hands straying to his still flat tummy 'I would never be able to get through this without him'.

An unexpected knock on the door of their side entrance tore him out of his musings and for a moment he was panicking, afraid to be seen by a stranger, but then he heard a well-known voice call out "Tommy? Are you in there? Come on bro, open up, it's about to rain!"

Relieved, Tommy hurried to open the door to let his brother in. Dean strode in, complaining about the 'shitty weather' and completely unfazed at the sight of a wolfed out Tommy.

They made normal Smalltalk until the elder asked out of the blue "So, is it true, you're really knocked up?"

Tommy blinked "Uh, yes, its true….by the way, how's mom, I mean, is she still…"

"Shocked speechless? Nope, she snapped out of it a couple of days ago and is now determined to take it in stride, if anything she's a bit disappointed that she can't organize a baby shower for you."

Picturing himself surrounded by a dozen of his mom's best friends, all staring at his belly, squealing in delight and cooing nonsense while trying to bury him under a mountain of pastel-coloured ridiculously cute stuffed animals made Tommy blanch quicker than a bout of morning sickness.

Dean chuckled "Yeah, you're lucky that your fur is keeping you save from this nightmare, sadly I have no such thing to protect me…now that her grandma-instincts are activated she's on a rampage - and since things between me and Vera have been going really well lately…."

"She wants you to marry her ASAP and give her many more grandchildren to fuss over" added Tommy sympathetically, knowing his mother well enough to know that she was probably after Dean 24/7 now, giving him not-so-subtle hints.

"Yup, and you know how she can be when she has taken something into her head. Just the other day a catalogue of a wedding outfitter mysteriously found his way into Vera's mailbox, and when she was visiting us for dinner yesterday mom pointed out how many taxes we would save as a married couple. My poor girl nearly choked on her peas."

Tommy couldn't help it; he burst out laughing "That's so typically! But seriously, what's keeping you from asking Vera? I mean, you do love her, don't you?"

Dean blushed to a faint pink at this "Of course, Vera is the woman of my dreams, actually I had already thought about asking her but now…"

"Now you're scared that she would think you're only doing it because your mom wants it." Tommy sighed, that was another thing their mom was good at, complicating things while only having the best intentions.

"Let me give you a little advice: take Vera and go on vacation. You'll see, a week away from work and annoying mother-in-law wanna-be's, just the two of you, will work wonders for your relationship….and would be perfect to propose - once you've explained to her that it's truly your love for her and not mom's prodding that makes you ask of course." Dean nodded, clearly liking the idea.

"Oh, and one more thing: unless you want a really big affair with hundreds of guests, from mom's old sorority buddies downs to dads fellow party members, not to mention his campaign contributors, and all cousins no matter how far removed, I strongly suggest you elope - though if someone asks I will deny ever having said something like this."

He winked at a now ghostly pale Dean, who couldn't decide what was scarier: a wedding with all of his annoying relatives and half of Pleasantville present, most likely even broadcasted by Sally's co-workers - or the temper tantrum his mom would throw when he took the only chance to organize a big wedding for at least one of her children from her.

While Dean and Tommy were having their heart-to-heart conversation Rock finished knocking down another wall.

Since they had kids on the way they had decided not only to renovate the guest quarters but also the future nurseries while they were at it.

He and Shao planned to have theirs in the room opposite to their bedroom, though that meant the translator would need a new room for her work for Shao planned to work freelance once their baby was weaned and would need a home office.

Thus Rock was currently standing in the so far unused space across from their sickbay, which was to the right from their main entrance with windows facing the driveway.

Granted the room with the view into the garden would have been more beautiful but remained reserved for the sickbay, simply to make sure that no nosy visitor could sneak a peek and see too much – like a highly pregnant Tommy or one of them injured and wolfed out from the pain.

Anyway, once this room was done and painted they could move Shao's computer, desk and stuff into it and start redecorating the other; they'd already picked out a cradle along with some curtains that had an adorable teddy bear pattern.

Now that he was working full-time his mother was paying him a regular salary so buying new stuff for their kid was no problem at all, especially since Merton asked only a very modest rent of them, basically just their share of the service charges.

He'd actually been embarrassed to ask them for money in the first place but his savings were near exhausted, and with both him and Tommy unemployed for another year…

The four friends had secretly agreed that they would not only pay for the renovations but also to buy the basic furniture for at least some of the new guest rooms, unwilling to beggar their friend, and leave it up to Tommy to convince his mate to start charging a fairer i.e. higher rent in the future.

Merton needed to make provisions for repair works after all; the day would come when they needed a new roof or something else that was too big or complicated for them to do it on their own.

With a grunt he lifted up the heavy sledgehammer and walked into one of the four remaining small rooms between the sickbay respective Shao's future office and Tommy's and Merton's living room and started on another superfluous wall.

His friends hadn't decided yet which one of the two nascent bigger rooms would become their child's room, actually they planned to have the cradle down in their bedroom for the first months until the kid would be old enough to sleep through the night, but they all had agreed to at least knock down its wall and repaper the other one too so it would be ready for use when they'd need it.

For the same reason they were also working on _all_ the remaining rooms in the upper floor even though they were in need of only two guest rooms so far – one for Sam and Mary, one for Luke and Chris – and Lori and Steven hadn't even started talking about kids yet.

But they didn't want to go through all the hassle again in a couple of years; all the noise and dirt, not to mention the dangers, a construction site brought in its wake weren't suited for toddlers, hence they've got to be finished with the dirty work before their kids were born.

They would be done with the walls tomorrow before another working week began; cleaning away the rubble could be done in the evening after their regular workday was over – unless Steven had an emergency with one of his patients – and then they could start on the sanitary equipment next weekend.

Rock stretched and heard more than one popping sound coming from his back; he was really starting to look forward to a hot shower and Shao's talented hands easing the kinks in his muscles, though he knew it could be much worse.

If he were still a human he'd be stiff and sore for several days instead of being able to continue tomorrow, not to mention he'd never have the strength to knock down walls that easily with barely breaking a sweat.

On the following weekend, Larry and Manny came over to assist them with the bathroom installations, though as much as the help of the two professionals was appreciated their presence cut both ways since it meant that Tommy had to hide in the basement for almost the whole day.

Merton was with him the entire time, doing whatever he could to calm his beloved down and help him fight off the rising claustrophobia at being cooped up in one room for so long, reminding him that he wasn't trapped and would be running free again soon.

Meanwhile on the top floor things were going really well, they'd already installed the shower receptors and were now moving on to the toilets.

Since they expected to house at least four people at the same time frequently – their friends plus future children - they'd opted for two separate shower baths instead of one large bathroom with a tub to prevent 'traffic jams' in the mornings.

Thankfully separating the former community shower into two smaller rooms had been easy.

A few weeks later fortune really favoured them when a furniture store over in Muhlenburg was announcing a big sale with a special event:

**Only Next Saturday!** **Buy one, get one free –** _on everything you can pay in cash and carry out of our store in one hour! _

Granted, the commercial implied that this offer was meant for small things like lamps and curtains, but since it was nowhere said on their flyer that bigger furniture was _not_ included….

"You're aware that if we go through with this we'll never be able to show our faces in that store ever again" tried Steven to warn his friends, though his serious words were belied by his badly suppressed grin.

"I suggest that Shao and I check out the shop beforehand, we're the least suspicious and that way we can secretly pick out what we need and when the hour starts all you have to do is carry the stuff away" said Merton.

Lori grinned even broader than her mate "I'll ask Larry and Manny if they can loan us their van….damn, those salesmen won't know what hit them!"

And so it was, Shao and Merton went ahead and secretly took a good look at everything; they looked like an ordinary couple looking for a few small things.

No one suspected a thing, let alone that Merton was carrying a thick wad of bills in one of his pockets in preparation for what was to come.

As noon drew nearer the store began to fill with people and the tension began to rise, at high noon the manager rung a bell, declaring the hour had started.

Most people rushed for the linen department and the like to get to the small, easily portable things, no one noticed that a handful of young people went for the upper floor to the furniture section.

When an energetic blonde came running to the cash desk with two chairs, quickly paying for one with counted money, no one got suspicious, not even when she came soon again with two more chairs, but when a big, broad-shouldered black male arrived, carrying a small wardrobe, followed by a smaller man and the blonde from before carrying a second, the first eyebrows went up.

However when the two males came next, carrying a whole queen-size bed and quickly went to get a second, jaws hit the floor and someone hurriedly called the manager.

He frowned deeply, but since they had the money to pay for it there was nothing he could do, not even when they continued with matching dressers, mattresses and nightstands.

That Merton, Shao and Lori added pillows, blankets and bedding along with lamps, rugs and curtains went almost unnoticed compared to this.

About ten minutes before the hour was over the friends met near the entrance to take stock of their pickings, closely monitored by several salesmen and one angry-looking manager.

"I guess we've got everything we've come for."

"Yes, and even cheaper than I had guessed, we've still got a few hundred bucks left."

"Too bad that there's nothing else we need, I would love to see this asshole go through the roof… the manager tried to trip me the last time I passed the cash desk" explained Shao her unusually aggressive comment.

"He tried to trip you although you're obviously pregnant? Now that begs for revenge…." Merton trailed of with a contemplating frown that soon turned into a mischievous little smile.

"Say, how much space do we have left in the van?"

"Plenty, why, what are you up to?"

The Goth turned to Lori "Do you think you and Steven could carry another heavy item?"

She followed his gaze to the display in the shop window behind her and started to grin "You bet! We grab the stuff; you give them the money and then let's get the hell out of here - before they kill us!"

Merton put on his best innocent smile and walked over to the manager while his friends seemingly continued to chat, slowly walking towards the exit but at the same time easing their way to the left where the display was.

"Is there a problem?" asked the manager through gritted teeth, obviously struggling to stay civil and still keeping his eyes on the group although they were almost in front of the doors now.

"Yes, my friend informed me that you tried to trip her, although any fool can see that she's big with child. Care to explain?"

Convinced that the others posed no further thread the manger dared to take his eyes from them and focus on the young man in front of him, not knowing that this was exactly what the others were waiting for.

"You bastards fleeced me really good today, I wish she'd fallen and broke a leg...but since you've got no proof…" He grinned, knowing the cops couldn't touch him without evidence.

"True, that's why we decided to give you a parting gift" Merton, still smiling serenely, handed him something. The guy looked dumbfounded at the two hundred dollar bills in his hand.

"You may keep the change" said Merton cheerily before turning around and walking away rather quickly.

That was when the manager noticed that his friends had used the time to step into the window display beside the door and were currently carrying out two high-class sofa beds, currently on special offer for only 199 $ apiece.

His furious yells followed them outside into the parking space, all but drowning out the sound of the bell which declared that the hour was over. They were still howling with laughter by the time they arrived back at their house.

Tommy was flabbergasted as he saw how much they got, especially about the unplanned couches, until Merton told him what that manager had tried to do.

"He was such an asshole so we thought what the hell, let's go the whole hog. I thought we could put them in the big room for now, you know sort of as a living room for Sam, Mary, Luke and Chris…

Furthermore these aren't just ordinary couches but sofa beds, that way we're prepared for additional surprise guests, like Callisto and Jamie, and they were really cheap and we only had to pay for one to boot…" A kiss from Tommy stopped his nervous rant.

"You don't have to convince me Mert, I know you would never throw our money down the drain. Actually I think it's a nice idea to add a living room to our guest wing, we've got more than enough space after all, and that we get additional sleeping facilities is a really big plus."

Merton beamed at the praise and snuggled into his mate's embrace until an ominous growling from Tommy's midsection shattered the tender moment.

He sighed "Let me guess, you didn't have a decent breakfast, _again_, but only some saltine crackers?"

Tommy shrugged sheepishly "You know that it's about the only thing I can keep down in the mornings at the moment…but I ate them along with some pickles, a few cherries preserved in syrup and a couple of jalapeños."

Merton shuddered inwardly at the combination but wisely kept his mouth shut, knowing better than to argue with a pregnant person about their cravings.

He merely pulled him towards the kitchen, knowing they wouldn't be having lunch until the van was completely unloaded but unwilling to let his pregnant beloved go hungry any longer.

"Come on, I'll make you a sandwich…there should still be some leftovers from last night's roasted pork, with tomatoes and salad, how does that sound?"

Tommy's eyes lit up "Could you also add some anchovies, and maybe a trickle of honey?"

Shao took a step back from the wall to take a good look at her latest painting; the subject was the Toscana at night.

Lori and Steven, who had been really impressed by her Fuji, had asked her to paint the image of their favourite photograph from their honeymoon onto their bedroom wall.

She got to admit it was a nice scene, green rolling hills with a cypress here and there under a starry sky.

On a small hill at lower left were the ruins of a small temple, a couple pillars in the front had toppled down while the rest still supported a partly caved in dome.

A luminous full moon top right was shining down on it which seemed to make the white marble almost glow against the dark night sky, except for a few dark patches were some ivory had wrapped itself around the pillars.

Shao was using a special paint for the temple with microscopic glass-pellets that would reflect the light a bit to get the same effect, and planned to glue some rhinestones (leftovers from when Merton had added star constellations to his ceiling milky way last winter) between her painted stars to make her night sky sparkle as well.

Rock was currently painting too, though with a paint roller rather than a tiny brush, he was colouring their nursery in light blue.

During her last ultrasound Steven was able to tell them that they were having a boy which had brought tears of joy to her big strong mate's eyes.

The memory made her smile and rub her belly lovingly, she was eight months along now and getting _really_ huge.

Of course, the news about their baby's gender also triggered a discussion about names.

Surprisingly Rock's first request – more a plea, really – was to completely ignore whatever suggests his mother would make.

It turned out that Jeanne had a penchant for classic French names which was the reason he was so adamantly using his nickname all the time….who would have guessed that the tall, black and - to strangers - almost menacing looking man's true name was in all seriousness Jean-Pierre?

Shao still broke down into giggles at the memory of a highly embarrassed Rock making that particular confession.

However, they knew they had found the perfect name, one that not only sounded nice but would also make Jeanne happy when they discovered that both their fathers, although called Bill respectively Will, true name was indeed William.

"William Tenshi Johnson…do you like your name, little one?" Shao whispered, petting her huge bulge again, in which her son was currently doing one summersault after the other.

"I guess that means yes, hm?"

Deep inside she was also hoping that the name would strike a chord with Rock's relatives; they planned to send his grandma a photo once their boy was born to inform her about her first great-grandchild.

And even though he never said it out loud, Shao knew that he was still hoping for his family to come round.

As he'd predicted, informing Lycantria turned out to be a highlight for Tommy.

Whereas Callisto and her mate Jamie had been delighted to hear that him and Merton had succeeded and genuinely wished them the best, Nepomuk had been visibly struggling to retain his composure.

It took him several minutes to force out a congratulation that sounded about as fake as his smile looked.

"May I ask how you prepared that last potion? I mean, since you have no blood-related werewolves…we were rather worried that this would pose a problem."

Tommy snorted inwardly 'you and worried that we would fail, my ass! More like hoping for it!' Out loud he just shrugged and said "Yeah but I have a pack, so we simply took a few drops of each member and it obviously did the trick."

Nepomuk's 'smile' contorted into a grimace for good as he gritted his teeth so hard Tommy expected him to bust a molar at any moment.

"How…fortunate for you."

"Say Tommy, I was wondering if I and Jamie could come and visit you guys again, especially Steven….I´m still feeling rather guilty for not being able to make it to his wedding."

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault that you broke your leg at such an inconvenient time. And of course you can come and visit us, you're welcome anytime…actually, we just finished our guest quarters.

However I fear you would have to help with the added housework seeing as Rock, Steven and Lori are working full-time, Shao is getting close to her due date and I´m prohibited from doing most things.

Merton and the others have already enough problems to keep our household running without my and Shao's help; and now with the harvest season nearing…"

He tried to sound casual but truth was they were a bit in a bind - heck he'd actually already thought about enlisting his family for bringing in the harvest, but as much as he loved them his brother had always been a sloth-bear, his dad was way too busy as a mayor and he had trouble just _picturing_ his mom in her pumps on a ladder.

Callisto smiled, knowing how busy harvest time was because Lycantria was almost exclusively self-sufficient. "Don't worry, we'll be happy to help out…oh, don't look so scandalized, a bit work won't hurt me."

The last part was accompanied by an annoyed eye roll and directed to Nepomuk who was clearly shocked at the thought of his queen doing manual labour like a common peasant.

He recovered rather fast though and asked to come with them, supposedly to check if everything with Tommy's pregnancy was going as it should.

Tommy allowed it with feigned indifference but inwardly he was frowning deeply.

To him, it was obvious that Nepomuk was up to something, and unfortunately the only way to find out what exactly was to play dumb and lull him into a false sense of security to make him tip his hand.

His instincts screamed at him to not let the creep near him, especially now that he was pregnant and hence far more vulnerable than usual, but his logic mind won out; he needed to know what he planned first to be able to defend himself.

Together with Merton he went over the possibilities, a direct attack was ruled out immediately; even in his currently weakened state the other wouldn't have a prayer against him.

Poison was out of the question as well since all werewolves shared the ability of real wolves to instinctively heave up everything that would make them sick.

Tommy sighed; they could talk for hours on end without finding the answer, he just had to trust in his pack to keep him and his child save…and luckily, he still had one _hell_ of an ace up his sleeve, literally.

With a smile he opened the window to the garden and whistled for Sparky.

What is the sneaky bastard aka Nepomuk planning? Will he pose a threat to Tommy's unborn pup?

And speaking of the child: I want to hear your ideas for a name. Get creative! I mean, one of his/her parents is Merton, can you see him giving his kid a plain vanilla name like 'John' or 'Elisabeth'? Me neither!

Aside from that there'll be some more background info on Sparky…namely why he fears to never have a family of his own.

And last but not least: Merry Christmas everyone!


	13. Chapter 13

Hello everybody! I hope you had a better Christmas + New Years than me; mine was kinda ruined when my dentist surprised me with the news that one of my wisdom teeth had to be extracted. The pulling itself wasn't that bad, but then the local anaesthetic wore of…worst though; my jaw ached so much I couldn't eat any Christmas cookies!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: ShaddowWolfDagger, Ke13, Magnetic, D´Lark, LivBeck, tailsjm, 66witch and Damej.

Wohoo! Thank you so much for your awesome ideas how to name Tommy's and Merton's kid, I'd never imagined such a big reaction to my request!

Although neither gender nor name of their kid will be revealed in this chapter I've already used some of your suggestions which fit just perfectly. Can you guess for whom? No? Well, read and find out!

Btw, since someone suggested 'Hobbit-names': Did you know that Tolkien´s description of the shire was actually inspired by a landscape in east Ireland – the _Dingle_ peninsula. I was SO floored when I read this…if you want to know what it looks like, check out wikipedia.

13. Chapter

The sounds of busy clatter and friendly chatter filled the kitchen along with the smells of apples, carrots, tomatoes and various other fruits and vegetables; it was harvest time in the werewolf abode.

True to their word Callisto and Jamie helped where they could, him out in the garden and her in the kitchen, even the very grumpy Nepomuk had been drafted.

Tommy was currently peeling and dicing peaches while listening to Shao and Callisto exchanging receipts.

Since Lycantria was also self-sufficient but didn't had the means to freeze their harvest they were forced to pickle, brine, smoke or salt everything in order to preserve their food which was why the princess had been downright amazed and even a bit envious when she saw their huge walk-in freezer.

Fresh, non-dried or -pickled fruit and vegetables in winter were a luxury she could only dream of.

Merton had suggested getting a generator or some more solar cells to power a cold-storage room but alas, money was perpetually tight since they had to be very careful selling furs and the like to stay under the radar.

Tommy, being the kind soul that he was, had promised they would loan her the money once they'd made a few preserves and could afford it – or better yet, purchase the necessary items for her.

Callisto had been speechless at first, only to hug him and promise they would pay back every cent the second she'd recovered.

Just as Shao was explaining a fascinated Callisto how people in her homeland prepared dishes with seaweed and algae Rock came in.

"Hello everybody…man, that smells good in here, no wonder people are buying our vegetables like crazy. We'll be making a healthy profit this year; my mom has already sold everything I brought her this morning."

"Good thing I've sorted out more for sale then, the crates are on the terrace…oh, and here's some of the stew I've made for lunch, you and Jeanne only have to reheat it" said Shao and handed him a small pot.

"You're a life-saver, I´m so hungry I could eat a horse…see you this evening!"

Looking out of the window Tommy could see how Rock and Jamie loaded the crates into the back of the botanist's pick-up truck.

They were talking and laughing with each other while Nepomuk stood idly by and scowled….and just a few feet behind him sat Sparky in his puppy-form, unobtrusively but attentive.

In hindsight Tommy was glad that they hadn't told Lycantria the truth about Sparky, although he had felt guilty for keeping things from his friends at first it was definitely paying off now.

Knowing that the hellhound was keeping an eye on Nepomuk truly took a load of his mind; even so Sparky hadn't noticed something off about him so far.

However, asking his fury buddy for help had led to a shocking revelation which was still troubling Tommy.

_Flashback_

Sparky came only seconds after Tommy had whistled for him and listened intently as he explained the problem to him and what he wanted him to do once their visitors would arrive.

The hellhound was happy to help as always, even though it meant for him not to speak freely and to stay in one form for several days, actually he seemed to be even more eager than usual.

Over the past weeks he'd become fiercely protective of Tommy and his unborn cub and took his self-proclaimed role as their guardian really seriously. If Nepomuk truly tried something he would be in for a _very_ unpleasant surprise….for now though, Sparky's order was to simply stay near the elder werewolf and keep a wary eye on him.

And since no one in Lycantria knew of his true nature Nepomuk would only see a completely harmless puppy following him everywhere.

"You know Sparky, I've been thinking, with how much you're looking forward to our kid; surely you would like to have a family of your own one day?"

Tommy looked surprised for a moment at Merton's question, it never had occurred to him but of course Sparky would want a mate and pups too some day. "Yeah, if you want we could check out the pound or the local dog breeders, I´m sure we could find a nice girl for you – or a guy, whatever floats your boat."

However, instead of rejoicing over their offer Sparky suddenly looked incredibly sad and for once his true age was showing in his eyes, their usual playful sparkle gone completely.

Tommy was at a loss as he hugged his distressed friend, trying to comfort the whimpering hellhound and exchanged a worried look with his mate. How could a harmless question like that cause such a drastic reaction?

It took minutes of soft petting from Tommy before Sparky calmed down again and Merton dared to speak "I´m sorry that my suggestion upset you so much, but could you maybe tell us why? We might be able to help you."

The hellhound breathed an almost human sigh but agreed, though he remained in Tommy's arms who took this as a sign not to stop his stroking.

What followed was a heartbreaking story that made Tommy regret that he'd let Sparky's original master Charon off the hook that easily when they'd met.

For the truth was: Sparky wanted a family, desperately so, he yearned for a mate by his side and pups of his own to take care of, but thanks to that bastard it was not possible.

The alterations Charon had made to convert what had once been a normal dog into his hellish watch-hound made him all but incompatible with other canines.

For one he was too strong, only the largest and sturdiest breeds had a chance to survive coupling with him, added to this Sparky's almost human-like intelligence made it near impossible for him to get along with ordinary dogs.

He just couldn't see them as his equals, and even if he should somehow manage the impossible and find a mate who could take him and who he liked he would outlive them by far because even after being exorcised he still had an increased lifespan with several centuries ahead of him.

The worst though was that any pups he sired – given that the female survived the encounter with him in the first place – were doomed to end as a miscarriage.

Sparky had learned this lesson the hard way many, many years ago. Time and again he had been forced to watch helplessly how the hellish brood inside their wombs would kill their mothers long before they were ready to be born.

In the end Sparky couldn't bear it anymore and gave up, emotionally scarred by the constant failures he came to loathe Charon even more for doing this to him on top of refusing over and over again his plea to give him at least a male companion if not a mate.

But the ferryman had made it clear to him right in the beginning that as far as he was concerned a second male hellhound wasn't needed and female would only distract Sparky from his duties as a sentry.

From that day on he used each and every opportunity to escape if only for a few days for Charon always found him and dragged Sparky back to the netherworld with him….until Tommy made an appearance and interfered, freeing him from his evil master.

_End Flashback _

Tommy, who had meanwhile proceeded from peaches to bell peppers, still felt the urge to clobber Charon for what he'd done to Sparky.

He hated to see his friend so crestfallen but regrettably he had to agree with his conclusion: Only another hellhound would be suited to become Sparky's mate and give him pups, alas there were no other hellhounds beside Sparky and whichever poor creature Charon had dragged down to hell to replace him.

That same evening, as they were all sitting and chatting in Tommy's and Merton's living room, Nepomuk surprised them all as he came forth with the proposal that Tommy should give birth in Lycantria 'because it would be safer for him and his cub'.

The alpha and his mate were stunned speechless; partly because it was the first time Nepomuk spoke up since he'd arrived but mostly because of the sheer idiocy of his suggestion.

Steven was doubtlessly every bit as capable to deliver their child as the healers in of the werewolf-kingdom and _way_ better equipped, not to mention that travelling across the whole country highly pregnant would be an unnecessary strain Tommy could very well do without...add to this the risk of someone seeing him big with child and the whole idea was about as stupid as you can get, yet they could see that Nepomuk was dead serious.

It just didn't make sense, what did the bastard hope to achieve with this?

The question was answered before one of them could even ask it as Steven, who had initially been just as bewildered as the parents-to-be, suddenly burst out laughing which caused Nepomuk's trademark scowl to deepen even further.

"So that was the real reason you wanted to come along, hu, trying to do some damage control now this the cub _is_ on the way no matter how unhelpful you were."

He shook his head, grinning with malicious glee as he turned towards his friends and explained "You see; if your child becomes an alpha – which is highly likely given that the whole spell was specifically designed to carry the full strength of the parents into the next generation – he or she will inherit Tommy's claim to the throne….unless the cub is born in Lycantria, which would automatically made it a subject of the crown."

Tommy shook his head in disbelief "When will you finally get it through your thick skull that I´m not a bit interested in your throne? I have my own pack for crying out loud!" He sighed in exasperation while Callisto shooed Nepomuk to his room with a glare and a hissed reprimand for his impossible behaviour.

Once he was gone she sighed too and gave Tommy an apologetic look "I´m truly sorry, I should have known he was up to something…"

"Don't sweat it; Nepomuk is and will remain an old grumpy bastard, but that shouldn't keep us from staying friends. Speaking of which, Merton and I wanted to ask you if you would like to be our kid's godmother."

Her eyes flew up in delight "Oh, I would love too! Though if it's a girl, please have mercy and do _not_ give her my name – seriously, I hate it, but it's a family-tradition, every member born in the royal family has to have the name of a moon or a moon god. Personally, I like my second name better."

"No offence Cal but I have to agree, your name is somewhat…special, to put it mildly" joked Tommy and Merton asked "And what is your second name?"

She told them and saw how the two parents-to-be exchanged a look and simultaneously started to smile. "Now that's a name suitable for a cute little wolf-girl!"

"Yep, now we only need to look for a male name in case it's a boy….and find a way to break the news to my mom that the kid might not become a Dawkins without her going bonkers."

Seeing Callisto's and Jamie's puzzled expression he explained "We decided to give our child the family name of whom it resembles more since it would raise issues if it's officially a Dawkins but looks like a carbon-copy of Merton.

However my mom is _really_ looking forward to spoil and show off her first grandchild, already making plans whom to invite to the baptism ceremony and looking through catalogues for baby clothing. Now imagine her reaction when she gets to know that the kid might not become her grandchild officially…"

Callisto and Jamie winced in sympathy, all too familiar with the problem of overzealous wannabe-grandparents themselves.

"My dad is just as worse, ogling my waist and watching like a hawk if I get nauseous at breakfast…not to mention the oh-so-subtle 'helpful hints'." She sighed; the former king used every opportunity to remind his daughter of her duty to continue their lineage.

Jamie gave her hand a gentle squeeze and added "And he's not the only one, ever since we've mated all of Lycantria is all but lying in wait for Callisto to get pregnant."

"Wow, that's got to be annoying as hell….although…no offence, I really don't want to take the same line as those morons, but honestly, what's holding you back? I mean; you're both healthy and have been happily mated for years, what more could you ask for?"

Callisto blushed a bit "To be honest, we would love to have kids but…oh well; I guess I can tell you."

She sighed, turning dead serious "The problem is our food situation. The ones in charge are always playing it down and do everything to keep people in the dark, but the truth is we've frequently got severe supply crunches.

Last winter hit us especially hard, we've had nothing but thin broth and boiled potatoes for weeks. A lot of the children got sick…in the end we've lost two little ones to pneumonia." Callisto swallowed hard, tears in her eyes, the faces of those children and the despaired wails of their mothers were still haunting her.

Tommy was visibly shocked, one hand automatically straying protectively to his belly.

Sure, he had always assumed that the people of Lycantria had to work hard to get through the winter but he'd never guessed that their situation was _that_ alarming. For minutes he stared to the floor before straightening up again with a look of pure determination in his eyes.

"That's got to change _right now_. Granted, the year is almost over so there are little options left, but that doesn't mean that we can do nothing, we can at least help you with the bare necessities.

Luke and Sam are closer by, they can get you some easy storable non-perishables, like rice and stuff, and maybe some milk powder and vitamin pills for the kids…Steven will know what's best to fight of deficiency signs and strengthen the body's defence.

Come to think of it, he can also give you some medicines, nothing against your healers but even I know that herbs are pretty much useless against pneumonia, one needs penicillin to fight off that kind of sickness….and next year, you start selling your furs and whatever wares you have via Luke and Chris.

That way you can sell as much as you want but remain under the radar, they can even buy the stuff you need for you so no one in the mom-and-pop store in the little town nearest to the tunnel exit gets suspicious seeing strange people buying a lot of supplies. You wouldn't believe how much people gossip in small towns…"

For the second time in as many days Callisto was speechless, amazed yet again at how much Tommy cared for a pack that wasn't even his own, and only minutes after Nepomuk had tried to fool him so heavily to boot.

She tried to say something, express her gratitude, but couldn't find the right words.

Tommy seemed to understand her nonetheless, laid an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in a friendly half-hug. "Don't mention it, I mean we're friends, right? And friends should help each other, you scratch my back and I scratch yours."

While everyone downstairs was starting to make plans how to get Lycantria save through the upcoming winter Nepomuk upstairs was grinning like a maniac.

Now that those idiots thought they had found him out they would stop watching him like a hawk so he could finally start with his _real_ plan - the one that would not only take care of the threat to the throne that was growing inside the bitten alpha but hopefully even of the whole blasted pack.

The next day was a Saturday which meant that Rock didn't had to work and could join their efforts, unlike Steven who was doctor on duty and had several patients to tend to.

He quickly noticed that Nepomuk stayed near him and was even seeking talks with him but blamed it on the éclat on the previous evening.

Convinced that the old geezer was just lonely Rock bore with him seeing as everyone else gave him the silent treatment, he even hoped that maybe Nepomuk only needed to get to know them better to get over his dislike of their pack.

So he patiently answered all his questions about his job, familiar background, how he met and mated Shao while sharing more than one discrete eye roll with the ever watchful Sparky.

Nepomuk seemed to be particularly interested in the fact that he and his mate were expecting a son and, strangely enough, that he used to be a football player.

In the end Rock was really glad when the day way over and hoped Nepomuk would bug someone else tomorrow.

In the evening everyone was sitting around the fireplace in Tommy's and Merton's living room again. The atmosphere was happy and relaxed as they all enjoyed some fresh waffles made by Shao and the hot cocoa Merton had prepared the way he had learned it from his grandma.

Sniffing appreciatively at his mug Tommy had to hand it to his mate, this creamy delicacy made from full-cream milk, real chocolate, cocoa powder, honey and cinnamon outclassed Sally's 'heat up milk in microwave and add Ovaltine'-version by far.

As always, Merton had put a scoop of vanilla ice in his steaming mug while Lori sprinkled a few chilli flakes on top of hers, Rock added a dash of his favourite French orange liqueur to his cup and Steven some of those mini-marshmallows he loved so much.

Beside him Callisto took a swig, closed her eyes in bliss and sighed. "You were right Tommy, this 'cocoa'-stuff is to die for."

"Told you so…the waffles are great too, we've got the receipt from Mary. Speaking of whom, have I already told you about her kid? They send us some pictures, cutest little boy you've ever seen, I can't wait to see him when they come and visit us over Christmas.

They named him Ayden Lucan, apparently Sam has some Irish Gaelic roots…it means something like 'bright little fire', quite fitting given that he inherited his fathers redhead.

Mary says it was an easy birth; she was barely six hours in labour, and from the way she and Sam are talking they're already planning the next. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up with half a dozen or more."

Callisto looked at the pictures and had to agree, the little boy with his bright red fuzz was adorable. "It must be nice to have as many kids as you want; at Lycantria we have strict rules limiting the number to prevent overpopulation.

Every couple is allowed just two pregnancies, a third only if they miscarry, though for each gay couple - or two unmated people - two special permissions are raffled among those couples who would like to have another child.

I know it sounds harsh but in the long run it's necessary, we_ have_ to be that strict or our island would be overcrowded within less than a decade and there's no way we would be able to feed so many with our limited resources, even taking your future help into account."

While Tommy nodded to her logic Nepomuk who sat in the furthermost corner of the window seat was using his mug to hide a furious snarl.

Although he had placed himself as far away from the others as possible and wasn't participating in their talk he was listening very closely, and Tommy's passing remark about Sam's and Mary's family plans had enraged him to the point he had trouble not to let it show.

'Those bitten lowlife-bastards are breeding like rabbits!' he fumed silently, more than ever determined to put an end to this most detestable travesty of a pack.

'I really need to up the ante; the black bimbo is too dense to get it otherwise.' He grinned, that the huge beta was all brawn and no brain was more than ok with him, it made it easier to manipulate him.

Nepomuk was sure, all it would take were a few nudges in the right direction and everything would work like clockwork.

What is Nepomuk's real plan, and will Rock truly be stupid enough to play into his hands?

Will poor Sparky remain alone and without a family of his own forever?

All this and more in the next chapter…there'll also be a time jump of a few months, so we get to know the gender of Tommy's and Merton's pup and it's name. If you have some more suggestions, feel free to send them. Although I have already a few good ideas, the jury's still out.

But first: review please!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Oh, you know the drill…nothing is mine.

Thank you all for your awesome reviews and know that i´m deeply sorry for not updating sooner but I've had a good, or rather horrible reason: some bastard mauled my cat. I spare you the gruesome details, lets just say it was a close call which required no less than three surgeries…she'll live but lost her tail and will limp for the rest of her life. Seriously, if I ever find out who did this, he/she will need emergency care, too!

Oh well, on with the chapter!

Chapter 14

Sunday started much the same like Saturday, after a quick breakfast everyone who wasn't pregnant was in the garden bringing in their harvest whilst Tommy and Shao sorted through their pickings, deciding what to sell and what to keep, and how to conserve the latter.

While Jamie and Steven tackled the pumpkins and Lori and Callisto handled the tomatoes and beans Rock was picking basketfuls of peas and apples with Nepomuk as his constant shadow, much to the black's chagrin.

He was too polite to chase the annoying elder away and simply tried his best to ignore Nepomuk's ramblings which seemed to get weirder and weirder as the morning progressed.

"…whereas _you_ already have an heir on the way and a mate who can give you many more strong cubs."

Rock sighed inwardly, why oh why was this creep so obsessed with the fact that him and Shao where expecting a son? He turned around and started to carry their ladder to the next tree.

"You're so big and strong, why should you bow to the whims of another? Why not use this golden opportunity….think of your cubs; you don't want them to become underlings too, do you?"

Rock froze, distantly aware of the lucky coincidence that Nepomuk couldn't see his face right now. His mind was racing as the scales fell from his eyes and the missing pieces of the jigsaw were falling into place.

How could he have been so blind?

Although Rocks first urge was to beat the bastard to a bloody pulp for so much as suggesting that he should attack Tommy - while he was pregnant to boot! - he knew he had to carry it off well and inform his alpha right away.

So he wiped the angry snarl off his face and put on his best dumb grin before he turned towards Nepomuk "That sounds like a good idea….but for now I have to bring this load of apples to my mate. And who knows, if I ask her nicely maybe she'll give me a sample of the lunch she's cooking."

Nepomuk was mentally shaking his head in disbelief at how simple minded this guy was, every other werewolf would jump onto the opportunity to become alpha but all he could think of was to stuff his face!

Oh well, at least with an alpha like this the pack would deteriorate in no time, and then it would be a piece of cake to finish them off.

- **T + M** -

Shao was stirring spaghetti-sauce and Tommy was dicing the apples that were too damaged to be sold or stored which would be frozen to end up as pie-filling or applesauce later on when Rock came in. Whatever greeting they were going to say died on their lips at the sight of his churned up expression.

"What happened?" asked Tommy quietly, to calm his troubled beta as well as to avoid unwanted listeners, keenly aware of how sharp werewolf ears were.

"Nepomuk finally showed his true face….he was already trying to cosy up to me yesterday; pestering me with all kinds of questions…I truly thought he only wanted to get to know us better."

He snorted "I can't believe how I could have been so stupid and actually believe that he did _not_ have an ulterior motive. That bastard…two minutes ago he practically suggested that I use the 'golden opportunity' of your weakened state and kill you to become alpha myself!"

"Don't beat up yourself up Rock. You're not stupid, merely trusting, and Nepomuk is a mean old coot trying to exploit this. I knew that he was up to something, that's why I asked Sparky to watch his every step in puppy-form." said Tommy soothingly, knowing that his friend was beating himself up for not realising sooner what Nepomuk had in mind seeking his company.

"Now that we know Nepomuk's scheme we can act accordingly, but I need you to play-act a little bit longer. Lure him into a false sense of security so he won't get suspicious, we don't want to force his hand to do something drastic….and tonight, we'll teach him a lesson he won't forget."

For the remainder of the day Rock stayed near Nepomuk and dissembled for all he was worth.

He even found a creative way to keep the bastard from annoying him further and retaliate at the same time: by going on and on about all his relatives´ sicknesses, including a really detailed description of his great-aunt Trudy's ingrown toenails which made Nepomuk go green and skip dinner in favour of puking behind some bushes.

- **T + M** -

By the time Nepomuk returned into their midst they were already sitting around the fireplace again.

Steven was explaining to his cousin and her mate how to administer the penicillin and cough syrup he'd got for them, though he hoped the vitamin drops he'd procured for them as well together with his pack's help to enhance Lycantria's winter stocks would keep the worst sicknesses at bay.

Though as comfortable as everyone appeared to be, there was a fine undertone of tension in the air, thankfully Nepomuk was too busy glorying inwardly in his impending triumph to see the veiled looks thrown his way.

What he couldn't know, Tommy had used his absence at supper to inform the others about his antics.

Both Callisto and Jamie had been aghast and disgusted at his behaviour and readily agreed to let Tommy punish him in every way he saw fit; only making sure the enraged alpha didn't plan to kill him.

So when Tommy asked the miscreant to come over for a moment everyone else knew what was coming, only Nepomuk was caught completely of guard. One moment he was walking towards that bitten menace and the next he was lying at his feet, with a strong paw around his throat.

He tried to break free which only caused Tommy to tighten his grip to the point he was truly choking Nepomuk, still that didn't stop the elder from trashing around.

Only when he felt the sharp claws digging into his neck, awfully close to his carotids, did he cease his useless struggling and went limp, forced to accept the fact that he was at the others mercy.

Tommy loosened his grip so he could breathe again but kept his paw and claws in place, just in case.

Still panting heavily Nepomuk cast a glance at Callisto and Jamie, visibly shocked to see that his pack mates were making no move to help him, on the contrary, the princess was downright glaring at him.

"Don't you dare and look at us for help you bastard! You knew damn well what you were doing, now live with the consequences!"

Nepomuk was speechless at the sharp reproof from his sovereign, he felt lost and abandoned, and his fear increased as Tommy made him meet his eyes.

A shiver ran through him and he swallowed nervously, fury he could have dealt with but this eerie calm, steady gaze was going right through him.

"Did you really think that just because I´m a bit incapacitated right now I wouldn't notice everything that's going on in my territory? Or that a bit buttering up would be enough to make Rock betray years of friendship?"

Nepomuk had to bit his lip to suppress a frightened whimper as he felt those deadly claws worrying his wounds, not dangerously so but enough to remind him of the possibility and to leave behind a conspicuous reminder for him and all who would see him, making sure he would never be able to live this fiasco down.

"All this time we've been nothing but friendly to you and your people and yet you come here, sowing the seeds of discord to bring about our pack's downfall, even trying to get me and my unborn cub killed. Really, I should kill you for this."

Nepomuk froze, throwing a panicked, desperate look at Callisto who still made no move to interfere before a low, threatening growl made his gaze snap back to the werewolf looming over him.

"Yes, I should kill you…but I won't. I want you to stand fuming on the sidelines while my pack grows and prospers, eaten up by enviousness but unable to do something, that will be your punishment. However, should you _ever_ try something again, I _will_ kill you, make no mistake about that."

Tommy let go of his neck and sat up again, keeping him pinned down with his gaze alone and continued in a commanding tone

"From this day on you are banned from each and any form of contact with my pack. If you so much as _try_ to get in touch with one of my betas, be it via phone, mail or in person, or leave the island and come near my territory ever again, I will hunt you down.

As for the reminder of your stay, you are confined to your room; do not leave it unless you have to go to the bathroom. Callisto or Jamie will bring you your meals. And now get out of my sight!"

The last part came out as an angry snarl and Nepomuk hurried to comply, he climbed to his feet as fast as he could but before he could rush out of the room he was stopped by Callisto's voice.

"One more thing, Nepomuk"

He flinched at her biting tone but turned around obediently, though he didn't dare to meet her gaze.

"I don't want to see you hiding those scars."

His head shoot up, disbelief written all over his face.

"Everyone shall see what a disgrace you are!"

Nepomuk swallowed hard but in the end lowered his eyes submissively, mumbling "Yes, my princess" before he dashed from the room, unwilling to let the others see the burning tears of shame running down his face.

- **T +M** -

The last days of their visit were quiet and peaceful. Steven, Callisto and Jamie spent hours each evening to figure out which products of Lycantria would sell best in the human world and how to invest what money they would make to improve their food situation.

They decided to sell fur blankets and trapper-style leather clothing since they always had an abundance of skins from their prey, along with bone carvings and sea salt which were easy to produce.

In exchange they wanted to get modern, more fruitful seeds, some laying hens and maybe, if they could afford it, a new breeding ram for their little flock of sheep which was in desperate need of new blood after generations of inbreeding.

Merton chimed in and suggested that since the area was really remote, they could risk and plant a few things on the mainland too – not whole fields, mind you, but a few scattered corn stalks, potatoes or pumpkins wouldn't attract attention, in the unlikely case someone stumbled across them they would pass off as farm crops seeding themselves.

And since they were hunting quite regularly on the mainland anyway in order not to exhaust their island's animal population, looking after them wouldn't be a great deal of work.

In the end, when Callisto, Jamie and a still shell-shocked Nepomuk left Pleasantville again, the princess was feeling hopeful and light-hearted, for the first time in many years things for Lycantria were actually looking up.

Her good mood only increased as they found Luke, Chris and Sam waiting for them near the entrance to the connecting tunnel with several boxes full of milk powder, meat extract, rice and tomato paste – basic but nourishing stuff, and thankfully cheap enough that Tommy's pack could afford a sufficient amount of them despite having near exhausted their reserves with renovating and furnishing their house.

Callisto was pleased, with all this, in addition to their own stores; they shouldn't have a problem making it through the winter.

- **T + M** -

At the last day of November, after only about five hours of labour, Shao gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Her smile when the others came in visiting afterwards was exhausted but nonetheless radiant and Rock was all but bursting with happiness as he called his mom, Sam, Mary, Luke and Chris and just about everyone he knew to let them know that him and Shao were a family now and that both her and little William were doing well.

They all took turns holding the baby and marvelled at his cute little ears and toes, even the usually tough as nails Lori cooed to the giggling infant.

Looking at the child, Tommy's hand unconsciously strayed to his belly where a slight swell had been forming over the last few weeks.

He knew he had six more months to go and wasn't really looking forward to giving birth but seeing his friend and his mate with their child he was getting impatient to hold his own child in his arms.

These feelings only increased when Luke, Chris, Sam and Mary and their baby arrived in mid-December, the sight of not one but two happy mothers sitting side by side with their bundles of joy in their arms was almost more than he could take.

Christmas this year was truly grand affair, Tommy's parents had decided that it was high time to get to know the other members of their son's pack which resulted in Mary, Shao _and_ Sally occupying the kitchen for days preparing a Christmas dinner with three gigantic geese and no less than a dozen trimmings, not to mention enough cookies, gingerbread and fruit cake to feed a small army.

Faced with the sight and smell of so many delicacies Tommy was really glad that the last traces of morning sickness had left him so he could enjoy all this to its fullest.

On Christmas Eve their dining area was packed as not only his parents but also Tommy's brother and Vera joined them.

Shortly after they had gotten engaged Dean had started to prepare her for the truth, putting out a few feelers to see if she was superstitious or some such thing, until he finally introduce her to the furry side of her future brother-in-law.

Needless to say she'd been stunned at first, but after asking some questions – and making sure that Tommy did NOT have an appetite for human flesh – she overcame her shock rather quickly and was now taking it in stride.

Everyone was in a merry mood, laughs and jokes were heard across the table and even Sally enjoyed herself after having come to the conclusion that the rest of the pack weren't primitive savages but ordinary men and women.

Afterwards they were sitting around the huge Christmas tree in Tommy's and Merton's living room, the other couples hadn't bothered with own trees since neither Shao nor Steven were used to celebrating Christmas before joining their pack, plus they knew that they would all wind up gathering in their alpha's living room in the evening anyway.

Quite a few parcels and packets were already lying under the tree, waiting to get opened the next day after breakfast, but apparently Bob Dawkins had other ideas for he handed his son a small package.

"I know it's a bit early, but I wanted to see your face when you open it."

Curious, Tommy ripped of the wrapping paper and revealed a wooden box; it was square, not bigger then his palm, made from oak wood which was worn shiny with age, and vaguely familiar looking.

It took a moment but then it his him where he'd seen it before, in a small glass case on his father's desk in his office. Tommy opened it almost reverently and looked at the golden pocket watch of his great grandfather Thomas Arthur Dawkins.

"Dad, no, I can't take this - Dean is the oldest."

"But you are the first to start a family, and you were the one we named after him."

Seeing that Tommy was still looking unconvinced Dean spoke up "Relax bro, if the bun in your oven turns out to be a girl you can still pass it on to one of my sons….speaking of which, I was wondering, once your little puppy is born, what will be the more suitable gift – a pacifier or a chew toy?" He winked at his brother who groaned good-naturedly at the corny joke.

Later that night, after their guests were gone and everyone was getting ready for bed, Tommy recalled the evening.

He was still deeply moved by his father's gift, the gesture showing without doubt that Bob fully accepted their little budding family. Merton, who had just finished brushing his teeth, came into their bedroom to find his beloved looking at the watch and tracing the outline of its gravure.

"I guess that means our discussion about male names is officially settled, hm?"

"If that's ok with you…I know you wanted something more imaginative then just 'Tommy Jr.'"

That was an understatement; Merton's suggestions had been creative to say the least, from 'Poe' over various ancient gods up to legendary horror figures (Nosferatu, Hyde).

Tommy finally put a stop to it when he started on Hobbit-names by pointing out that even though their kid would have furry feet at times it would also have to go to school one day where it would face endless teasing for a name like 'Frodo' or 'Peregrin'.

"However we can still pick an original second name…I kinda like the tradition Cal told us about, you know, naming your kid after a moon god."

He looked at the gravure again, more precisely at the 'A.' between Thomas and Dawkins.

"Hey, didn't you mention a moon god starting with A?"

Merton nodded immediately "Artemis, the legendary hunter and guardian of the forest….it's technically a goddess, though the name is frequently used for males and females alike."

"Thomas Artemis Dawkins…sounds nice, and we can always call him Tad to avoid confusion."

Merton put his hand on top of Tommy's which was resting on his still small bulge "I can't wait for the first ultrasound when we finally get to see our child for the first time."

"Me neither, only three more weeks, then we know if it's going to be a little Taddie or a little Luna."

- **T + M **-

Their friends had gone home again though left quite a few clothes behind since the two rooms they'd stayed in were always reserved for them anyway and that way each of them could drop by unprepared, say if they had a business appointment in the area.

Tommy smiled as he thought about this, he really liked that they considered the mansion their second home. He was currently enjoying his second breakfast consisting of cream cheese-filled Jalapeños, a couple of cinnamon rolls…and raw rabbit liver.

He'd been more then a bit unnerved when he first started to crave raw meat but Steven had reassured him that it was completely normal, expectable even. Being constantly wolfed out for such a long time was taking a lot out of his inner wolf, and raw meat was the best way to replenish its strength – aside from moon bathing, of course.

"Those cravings are your body's way to show you what you need and you should follow them, no matter how weird they seem."

Tommy had taken Stevens words to heart and ate whatever he wanted, but he made sure that Merton didn't have to watch him chew on uncooked flesh and always brushed his teeth afterwards.

Though he had to hand it to his wolf, he solely craved the most nutritious pieces, muscles and intestines like liver, which contained lots of iron and other substances him and his cub needed.

Actually, now that he'd finally overcome that gruelling morning sickness Tommy found himself to be hungry near constantly. Merton joked that he was truly eating for two, and it was starting to show, he was getting rounder very quickly.

Again, Steven calmed him down; pointing out that it was only normal that a pregnant belly would appear more obvious on a usually slim male waist, plus with all his nightly exercise there was no chance that he would grow fat no matter what he ate.

The last part made both Tommy and Merton blush, even though he thankfully hadn't developed mood swings so far Tommy was feeling the influence of his changed hormones, only instead of moody they made him horny. So horny in fact that he jumped Merton several times a day, including after his regular night run through the woods.

Not that the Goth was complaining, far from it, and he also liked that his beloved had gotten very cuddly in general and barely strayed from his side anymore. All in all this pregnancy was starting to feel like a long belated honeymoon and both were enjoying the quality time to its fullest.

Today however both were extremely exited, Steven had promised them this morning to bring his ultrasound unit with him over the weekend in other words in mere hours they were going to see their baby for the first time.

Though Tommy was also nervous for a different reason, Rock and Sparky had left them the day before to check out the rumours about 'weird hairy monsters' in a one-horse town in the neighbouring state.

Granted, it was most likely a hoax, but the alpha wolf in him was very uneasy about staying behind while his beta faced a possible dangerous situation.

He tried to calm himself with the fact that Sparky, exorcised or not, was still a strong fighter plus he knew nearly as much about supernatural beings and their weaknesses as Merton but to no avail.

Tommy fervently wished he could at least call them, but alas the place was so remote he couldn't get a connection to Rock's cell.

What if it wasn't a hoax but a bunch of rabid werewolves, or maybe a sort of demon that could only be vanquished with a spell, or… thankfully Steven's arrival tore him from his musings before he went bonkers from worry.

He and Merton hurried to their sickbay where he laid down on the stretcher, already lifting his shirt and tugging his pants down a bit, while they waited impatiently for Steven to get the device ready.

Trying to distract himself while they were waiting Tommy took a good look around; it calmed him time and again to see that they were well prepared for just about everything, even minor operations.

The room truly looked like any other emergency room, except theirs was also equipped with holy water, solutions to neutralize silver and various magical herbs like wolfs bane.

A cold sensation on his exposed belly caused him to refocus on what was going on. Steven had spread a bluish gel across his tummy which made the handpiece of the ultrasound glide over his skin easily.

Tommy and Merton were smiling, though they could make out only dark blobs and grey clouds on the monitor both clearly heard their child's strong heartbeat.

"Is it normal that its heart is beating that fast?"

"Yeah, the baby's heartbeat is always twice as fast as the mother's…" Steven trailed off and a slight frown appeared on his face before he started to rapidly move the handpiece, trying to get a better angle.

Tommy grew pale and Merton clutched their friend's arm frantically "What's wrong?"

Steven started to smile "Nothing; see this large round shape with the little pulsing one beneath? That is your child's head and heart….that is an arm, those are the legs and that's the umbilical cord."

The parents-to-be stared at the monitor, completely mesmerized as the doctor pointed out the various body parts, and what had looked like clouds and blobs before suddenly turned into the silhouette of a baby. But wait a minute….

"Is that…a third arm?"

Steven was positively grinning now "Yep; and there's the second heart and head." Seeing that his friends were too shocked to get his drift he continued "Congratulations, you're having twins."

Two jaws hit the floor and both were speechless for several minutes, until Merton mumbled "No wonder you're always hungry and already that big." Tommy could only nod.

"Do you want to know their gender?"

"Yes, of course!"

Steven moved the handpiece again and squinted at the monitor for what seemed like forever until "A boy…. and a girl."

The two beamed at each other, still slightly dazed in the light of the news they just got.

"So...I guess that means we'll get a Tommy Jr. to pass the watch on to after all."

"Yeah, and we'll also have a sweet little Lu…" Tommy halted, struck by sudden thought.

If _he _ was passing on the name of a valued and cherished relative, why shouldn't Merton do the same?

Granted, the relationship to his parents was most strained if not non-existent by now, but there was one family member he'd always loved and held in highest esteem.

"Aurora Luna Dingle….has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

For the second time in about five minutes Merton was shocked speechless.

"B-but… you said no exotic first names, or our kid would get teased."

Tommy grinned and patted his bulge "Don't worry; she'll have a brother who will protect her."

Merton leaped into Tommy's arms, simultaneously laughing and crying out of sheer joy. "I love you…both of…no, all three of you!" he sniffed, not exactly coherent anymore now that the news where fully sinking in but who could blame him.

Tommy himself felt like bursting with joy and yet he couldn't stop the tears leaking from his eyes while he laughed and hugged his mate; his emotions were all over the place. 'Must be the damn hormones' he thought.

Steven retreated discretely, unwilling to disturb the overjoyed couple yet wishing to give them their privacy. He went to the kitchen, still smiling, and started making preparations for dinner.

'Twins!' he thought, almost disbelievingly.

For one like him who had grown up with Lycantria's lore (and limited-pregnancy-policy), multiples represented a blessing from above, a rare gift from the moon itself to its chosen people.

Throughout their history, those children always turned out to be special, endowed with seldom seen strength and talents, in other words: born leaders.

Though as happy as he was, for his friends as well as for their pack, Steven was also worried.

A normal male pregnancy was already straining and dangerous for both carrier and child, with twins the stress and the risk increased drastically. He would have to keep an even closer eye on his friend and alpha from now on and monitor the progress of the children continuously.

'There won't be a miscarriage' he vowed, while putting the roast in the oven 'not on my watch!'

- **T + M** -

As you've seen, I just couldn't decide on boy or girl so I took both…and don't worry, Lori and Steven will have a child too, it will merely take a while longer for the 'happy family vibes' to get past her kick-ass attitude and awaken her desire to have children – but if you look close enough you can see how she's already starting to crack LOL

And I´m sure you can guess that those rumours about 'weird hairy monster' have something to do with the mate I promised to the faithful Sparky – I´m already curious to see how you'll like what I cooked up for him.

Last but not least, I hope you don't mind that Nepomuk survived, but it just didn't feel right to have Tommy kill him – yeah, he's an asshole, but he's also already an old man, a victim of his conservative upbringing and completely harmless if you keep him away from the pack.

Thus I settled for a big scare and utter humiliation instead of bloodshed. Let him howl in frustration when he hears from afar how well Tommy and his pack is faring, he's no more threat – though maybe a warning to others who might think like him.

I promise I'll have the next chapter out far sooner, now that my Terra is on her paws again the weight is of my mind and I can write again. In fact, I´m even planning some lemon. After all, just because Tommy is pregnant doesn't mean they can't do it anymore…

But first, review please!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Not mine, never was, never will.

I can all but see your angry and frustrated faces, asking why this chapter took _that _ long despite my promise to be quicker this time…the answer is quite simple: complete and utter stupidity on my part, in combination with a good dose of misplaced trust.

Long story short: I met an old friend who is half-American and asked her to beta for me. Harmless enough, right? Wrong!

Instead of just correcting my spelling and grammar that b*tch basically rewrote the whole chapter, to the point I couldn't recognise the characters anymore (she never watched a single episode of the show, nor did she read my stories) and since I didn't made a copy before handing the chapter over I had to remake it.

Completely. GRRR!

Oh well, I hope you'll enjoy the outcome anyway, despite the occasional typo and imperfect grammar.

15. Chapter

Tommy yawned, exposing his fangs, and nudged his head against Merton's hand, indicating that he wanted to get petted. His mate happily obliged and started scratching him behind his ears which earned him a content growl that sounded suspiciously like purring.

The pregnant alpha sighed in bliss as he leaned further into the caress, this was definitely the life.

When Steven had first suggested that he should spend more time in his wolf form to minimize the strain of the pregnancy on his humanoid frame he'd been reluctant, though he got to admit that his back had started to bother him lately.

It was Merton's blushing admittance that he would love to see more of Tommy's wolf in his temporary female form that changed his mind. Thus he was currently lying sprawled on their couch in wolf form, with his head pillowed on Merton's thigh.

The Goth hummed to himself while typing one-handed on his laptop which he somehow managed to balance on his other thigh.

After several months of outlining the character sketches and the plot for his book he'd started writing singular scenes which he had read to them to see how they would like his style – what usually led to everyone collapsing in laughter at their former stupidity since his story was heavily influenced by their first contacts with various monsters.

Garlic butter as war-paint against vampires, indeed.

Since then he'd been making good progress and was now estimating that he'd be done at around the same time the twins were due.

They were all already eager to read the advanced copy Merton had promised them, Shao was in fact so much inspired by the story that she had started making some drawn illustrations just for the heck of it.

She wasn't working as a translator again yet seeing as she had to nurse little William every few hours twenty-four-seven, making it impossible to get a decent night's sleep which left her tired and exhausted, but looking at her gurgling son she didn't truly mind.

Shao even offered her milk to Tommy and Merton for their twins when she overheard Steven worrying that the lack of mother's milk could be bad for their development, pointing out that her child would be at weaning age when they were due.

Sure, the fine-boned woman alone would never be able to sate twins but her milk would be a most valuable addition to whatever formula they were going to feed their kids and both parents-to-be were beyond grateful for her generous offer.

Tommy yawned again, the calming humming and the gentle petting from Merton was slowly but surely lulling him to sleep.

As he dozed off he remembered the varied reactions him and Merton got when they informed their friends and family that they were expecting twins.

Delighted squeals from Sally that she was going to have not one but two grandkids to fuss over and spoil rotten, slightly shocked but genuine congratulations from his dad and Dean, the later promising to help with babysitting and diaper-duty to train for the not too far away day he'd have his own kids, grins from Luke and Sam who made joking comments about their prolificness since they'd managed to do such a 'thorough job' in just one night and tips from Mary against back-ache and swollen ankles.

The probably oddest feedback though was the near awe from Steven and Chris; seems as if Lycantria had some old legends about twins.

Therefore they weren't that surprised at Callisto's wide-eyed expression and almost reverent congratulation, Jamie's slack-jawed stare – and Nepomuk's shocked outcry in the background.

Given how sudden the noise stopped they might have really given him a stroke this time…served him right, the bastard.

A few weeks later Cal was the one who contacted them bearing good news, apparently their plan to help Lycantria getting into funds worked better than they had thought.

People simply loved their native-style bone carvings and moccasins as well as their sea-salt with herbs condiments, their unexpected bestseller though was what she called 'mixed fruity wine'.

Apparently, a couple of decades back a tub full of overripe fruit meant for their hogs had been forgotten and started to ferment, by the time it was rediscovered an aromatic liquid had collected itself on the bottom.

They soon found out that the liquor had several useful effects, it eased the pain of the sick, warmed the guards on their long winter night watches, most of all though it dulled the hunger when their stores were low again.

So they started to ferment every fruit that wasn't edible anymore, added herbs for flavor and whatever amount of honey they could spare to make it more potent for they soon learned that more sugar increased the alcoholic content.

When Sam and Luke had been offered a sip by one of the guards while delivering more stores they found it to be really tasty and suggested trying to sell this too, much to the other werewolves surprise because to Lycantria it was all but a waste product, so they didn't mind handing over a barrel.

Mary filled the stuff into some wine bottles she still got form when her grandmother used to make sparkling cider, made up a fancy-looking label on her computer and tried her luck on the local weekly markets.

She offered everyone who came by a sample and was soon sold out; people were downright crazy about this new liquor which tasted like a mix of sweet fruits, wild berries and herbs.

They had already made enough to buy near everything Cal had dreamed of – better seeds and a new breeding ram – and were planning to invest in two more beehives which would be erected hidden on the mainland.

Also they would recultivate some fruit trees they had found growing wild around the remnants of an abandoned farm, both measures were meant to increase the production of their 'bestseller'.

The princess offered Tommy to pay back what they owed him for his help last winter now but he insisted that they needed to save up money for next winter's stores first.

She readily agreed, hoping that their goods continued selling so well because then they would be able to pay their debt within this year anyway and could start putting money aside for more solar cells and a cold storage room in the next.

Callisto hinted that given these bright prospects, along with the fact that they hadn't lost a single body to sicknesses last winter, she planned to get pregnant before the year was over.

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

The winter had been very short and mild this year, the last snow vanished at the end of January and late February already brought the first mild days of spring.

Now in March one could see the fruits of Rock's diligent labour; numerous crocuses bloomed scattered among the wildflowers in their meadow while dozens of tulips, hyacinths and daffodils brought the first dashes of colour into their flowerbeds where all the other plants were just coming into leaf, and clusters of snowdrops thrived in the half shadow under their trees.

Tommy enjoyed the first warming rays of the early spring sun on his fur while lying snuggled against his mate on a blanket underneath their weeping willow.

True, normally the air would have still been a bit too cold for Merton to be comfortable without a jacket but sandwiched between Tommy in his wolf form and Sparky in his grown-up form, both still in their thick winter coat, he was perfectly fine.

The Goth was busily typing into his laptop, only stopping every now and then to check his notes or reread what he'd written while petting his mate's head which lay in his lap.

Lately Tommy was spending more and more time in wolf form since his back had started to ache fiercely, no wonder, he'd grown so huge he was looking as if he was trying to hide a watermelon under his shirt.

Steven was very concerned and resorted to giving him those awful juices again, granted according to the scroll they were only required during the first trimester but he figured it couldn't do any harm but might help keeping the magical womb in good working order.

He was taking absolutely no risks, performing an ultrasound every weekend and ordered Tommy to alert him the minute he was feeling even the slightest amount of pain in his belly or a change in the children's heart rhythms, also he was to steer clear of every form of stress and agitation.

Thankfully this was no problem because things had been very quiet lately; the last supernatural occurrence had been the rumours about the 'weird hairy monsters' Rock and Sparky had checked out.

_Flashback _

Arriving at their destination it didn't took them long to realize that there was indeed some truth behind the rumours, the whole town was buzzing with whispers, the frightened people literally had no other topic.

Overhearing how some guys bragged that they'd killed one of the 'creatures from hell' Rock and Sparky tracked their scent trail back to a smouldering corpse that clearly couldn't be of an ordinary dog – it was way too large and had a large malformed lump on each side of its neck – but was yet too normal to be a sort of demon either.

What made Sparky's hackles rise though was the slight smell of sulphur that was in the air, granted it _could _ have been the fire accelerant the humans had used to set their kill aflame, but…

It took him and Rock hours to retrace the dead beast's step all the way back to a small cave in a rocky area in the woods at the very outskirts of the town which definitely reeked of brimstone.

They ventured inside carefully, but instead of a monster they only found another corpse, however this one was of a normal dog and already several days old.

On closer inspection it turned out to be a female, and given her rather large frame and fangs she'd got to have had quite a bit wolf blood in her lineage.

What was scary though was the way the poor thing had died; her whole stomach was ripped open - but not from the outside.

Rock shivered and felt himself reminded of a certain science-fiction movie as he saw the splintered ribs that bended outwards, away from the ugly wound.

He thought it would be the best to retreat and call Merton for more information seeing as he had absolutely no idea with what kind of creature they were dealing with and was about to suggest this to Sparky as they heard a low, menacing growl from behind.

'Shit!' Rock cursed under his breath as he transformed and spun around 'how could we ever overlook such a huge thing?'

Even with werewolf-sight he had trouble making out details among the shadows, but the height of the fierce yellow eyes and the two lumps on its neck left no doubt that it was one of the 'hellish creatures'.

Then, the weirdest thing happened; Sparky jumped between Rock and the beast, but instead of growling and snarling at the thing he indicated for Rock to stand down and started barking at it.

And strangely enough, the monster seemed to listen intently, it stopped growling and inched closer, out of the shadows, and that was when Rock too realised that something was off about their almost-attacker because now he could see that despite its size this monster was looking rather thin, heck underneath all that dirt-caked fur it was probably half-starved.

As the two canines communicated Rock relaxed a bit and with his adrenalin wearing off he finally noticed that the looks the 'beast' was throwing at them were more wary then threatening.

'The poor thing is more afraid of us then we are of it' he realised and wolfed down.

Apparently this was what the 'monster' had been waiting for because it transformed immediately after him - in a _very_ familiar fashion.

The huge creature all but collapsed into its puppy form, in a puff of smoke instead of a healthy whirlwind of sparks and flamelets which Rock knew from Sparky was a sign of utter exhaustion.

Moreover, the size of its puppy form was only about a third of Sparky's and it was so weak it was swaying on its paws, unable to remain upright, while whimpering pathetically.

The sound triggered Rock's newly developed fatherly instincts and he instantly went for his backpack, or rather for the sandwiches in it.

The starving pup basically pounced on the offered food, barely chewing before swallowing; in the meantime Sparky was informing Rock about what he'd learned from the little one during their previous conversation.

It seemed that Sparky's successor in hell had knocked up the pups' mother, and since he wasn't yet in full possession of his demonic powers and she was stronger than an ordinary dog due to her wolf blood she managed to remain pregnant until the hellish brood growing inside her was ready to be born – and ripped its way right out of her womb.

Scared but driven by hunger they ventured outside, following their noses to trash cans, chicken coops and the like.

Their first encounters with aggressive watch dogs threw them in a state of panic, which awakened their demonic blood and caused them to temporarily transform in order to defend themselves.

This was a purely instinctive behaviour meant to help them to survive, but it was observed by some humans who began to spread the rumour about 'weird hairy monsters' and before you knew it everyone owning a rifle or scattergun was hunting them.

And since they weren't real monsters but merely a bunch of frightened pups they went down like flies…except for the runt of the litter.

Too shy and scared to follow its siblings it stayed near the den, only 'hunting' grubs, bugs and snails, and managed to remain undetected.

'No wonder it's starved out' thought Rock, realising that despite their parentage the pups had been about as evil as the Easter bunny, and only accidentally killed their mother during birth because the sudden contractions had scared them to the point it triggered a transformation.

Meanwhile the little one had finished the sandwiches and hesitantly tapped over to Rock, still a bit frightened of this large human who could grow fur and scary fangs but then again had fed him and smelled a tiny bit like mommy.

As the tall black got to his knees and slowly extended a hand the pup sniffed it before licking it as thanks for the food.

He scratched its ears and, after exchanging a long look with Sparky, asked "Hey kiddo, do you want to come home with me and my bud? We have a large garden to play in and I promise you won't go hungry ever again. What do you say?"

Happy woofs and enthusiastic wagging of its tail answered the question and soon the trio was on its way home to Pleasantville.

_End of Flashback _

After a first examination Steven had confirmed that the little one was in a truly alarming state, under its thick greyish fur it was all skin and bone plus covered in flees and ticks, if they hadn't found it the pup wouldn't have survived much longer on it's on.

Also it had turned out to be a female with - after a thorough washing – very light fur colour, platinum blonde with silver tips. The later was probably the inheritance from her mother's wolfish ancestors and had earned her the name Silver.

They all had quickly taken the shy girl into their hearts, though no one more than Sparky, a feeling which was entirely mutual.

Silver had quickly come to like all members of the pack but the older hellhound clearly was her favourite.

She was his constant shadow, never straying far from him and at night she slept cuddled against him in his dog basket, not that Sparky minded, more the opposite.

He was overjoyed to finally have a true companion after all those years and secretly hoped that once she grew up they might become even more than just friends.

Two months had passed since Silver first joined them and by now she was well-fed, her fur had a healthy shimmer and she'd even already grown a bit.

Being part of a big, loving family had worked wonders to bring her out of her shell though she was still shy and easily scared when it came to strangers, which is why she startled violently when someone she didn't know entered the garden and quickly hid behind Sparky.

"Sh, it's alright Silver, that is just Tommy's mom; she won't harm you" soothed Merton while petting the shaking pup.

He knew it was important to calm her down quickly; since Silver wasn't fully grown yet they hadn't exorcised her so far for fear it could be bad for her spontaneous development - which meant they had to keep her from getting scared in order not to risk her transforming into her 'monster-form'.

Luckily Sally Dawkins didn't pay the slightest attention to the small puppy huddling behind Sparky; she was way too occupied gaping at how the gigantic silver brown she-wolf in front of her got up, yawned and stretched before transforming into her son to notice anything else.

Feeling cold without his warming fur Tommy quickly slipped into some clothes, well as quickly as his huge bulge allowed that is. "We didn't expected you today, is something special the matter?"

Sally blinked and snapped out of her slightly shocked state "No, I just wanted to see how you're faring, and ask when you'll be able to…uh… socialize again. You see, I´m starting to plan Dean's and Vera's wedding, the first thing of course is to set a date, so I need to know when you'll…uh…since we all want you to be able to attend…"

Tommy smiled inwardly; as much as his mom was looking forward to becoming a grandma she still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her _son_ was pregnant. "I´m due in the first half of May, and Steven says I'll need at least a couple of weeks to recover, so everything later than early June works for me."

"Great, that means we can have a summertime wedding with lots of flowers…speaking of which, your garden is truly turning into a paradise." Sally fidgeted with the hem of her blouse, looking everywhere but at Tommy's pregnant belly as she quickly changed the subject.

Her son humoured her, telling her how Rock had put pretty much every leftover flower bulb, shrub and bush from his mother's nursery into their garden, intermingled with a lot of new varieties he wanted to test for their customers.

Seeing how Sally started to look around with real interest he used the opportunity to make a little bit of advertising for his friend "You know, if you want to remodel your garden, I´m sure Rock would make you a good price….and if you start now everything will be ready in time for the wedding."

Sally blinked "You're right; it would beat having just an arbour, those are incredibly outdated anyway, and we have to make a fair impression on your father's supporters after all…I must say I´m surprised, I hadn't thought you would pay attention to those details."

"I merely want my brother and Vera to have the wedding of their dreams, and since I can do little else to help with all the preparations despite being Dean's best man..." Tommy shrugged, still feeling slightly guilty that he couldn't even throw his brother a bachelor party.

Though Dean had assured him that he didn't need a party but rather a quiet haven for him and his fiancé to escape to whenever Sally's wedding-planner-zeal threatened to drive them both nuts.

Whereupon Tommy and Merton had promised him that he and Very were welcome to 'flee' to them anytime.

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

It was late evening when Merton walked back into their bedroom through the cellar door after putting some more wood into their furnace for the night.

For no matter how mild the days were, as soon as the sun had set it still got rather chilly and they couldn't risk stinting on heating costs like they'd done last winter, not with a newborn baby and a pregnant person in the house.

The Goth lit some vanilla-scented candles and folded back the blankets on their bed while he waited for Tommy who was still out in the woods, though his usual nightly run had turned into a leisurely walk during the last couple of months due to his growing bulk.

Next he covered their bed with a large bath towel and got out a bottle of oil, preparing for the meanwhile regular massage he gave his beloved before going to bed to ease his aching back.

An impatient scratching on the entrance door signalled Tommy's return, he rushed in and transformed as soon as Merton had opened the door.

"That was just in time, the rain is about to turn into sleet" explained a slightly shivering Tommy why he'd been in such a hurry.

He stretched, appreciating the warmth in the room, only to flinch and groan when an audible popping sound was heard.

"Damn, Steven truly wasn't kidding when he said the male frame isn't meant to be pregnant."

Merton winced in sympathy "And the fact that you're with twins isn't exactly making things easier…now come on, hop onto the bed and I'll see what I can do to make you feel better."

Tommy kneed on the bed, with his thighs apart to make room for his huge belly, and leaned slightly forward so that he could brace himself against the headrest while his bulge was cushioned by the folded blanket.

Merton kneeled behind him, making sure to sit on his tail so he wouldn't get slapped by the unruly appendage, knowing that once he got started Tommy wouldn't be able to keep from wagging his tail in bliss.

Not that he minded causing that reaction, for he was just as nude as his beloved and there were far worse things than having something impossibly soft writhing against his privates.

The Goth poured some oil into his hands and rubbed them together to warm the liquid up before running his slick hands over Tommy's back to spread the sweet-smelling fluid.

He repeated the process until the werewolf's whole back was covered.

Now he could begin in earnest, he kneaded the slick flesh until Tommy whimpered, half in pain, half in pleasure, and soon he could feel the first knots under his hands come loose as the overworked muscles finally started to relax.

This was his sign to move lower and tackle the next set of knots.

Taking his time, Merton slowly made his way from neck to the base of his mate's spine. Tommy's whimpers had given way to constant moaning which became more heartfelt as the slippery hands moved to his buttocks next, making sure to tease his entrance as they kneaded the firm globes.

Merton shifted a bit nearer and leaned forward to nibble on his beloved's neck to which Tommy reacted by craning his head backwards for a long, deep kiss that was broken by a gasp as he was breached by a slick finger.

The werewolf let loose a needy whine as he bucked against the finger, followed by a plea "Merton, please….I _need_ you. Now."

"Patience my love…you know what Steven said; we have to be careful and take things slow, for our cubs´ sake."

The wail that answered him didn't sound too happy but the bucking stopped so he could ease a second finger in. With his other hand Merton reached for more oil to coat his erection, grateful for the huge amount of female hormones currently running through Tommy's system thanks to his pregnancy which neutralized the alpha's instinctive unwillingness to get mounted.

Otherwise their sex-life would have been shot until the cubs are born, what with Tommy's belly being so huge and in the way.

Doing it like this was simply the only way left for them, not that he minded, far from it - though if he was completely honest Merton was starting to look forward to when the cubs would be born and he would be the one getting fucked again.

An impatient whine brought an end to his train of thoughts, it was high time to show his mate how much he loved him.

Slowly and with infinite care he pushed into the willing body while his oil-slick hands found their way over Tommy's flanks to his taut belly and downwards to where his swollen need was bumping against the protruding bulge.

One hand started to fist the member in time with his slow thrusts while the other continued to stroke and caress the pregnant belly.

Merton could feel the soft fluttering movements inside and imagined that their kids were happy too, sensing the love between their parents, as he finally picked up the pace.

Before long Tommy was keening in rapture and his tail was going crazy against Merton's inner thighs and balls which in turn caused the Goth to let loose a cry of his own.

Loosing control for a moment he bucked into his lover with rapid hip movements, within seconds the werewolf's keen evolved into a howl whilst Merton muffled his screams of release against Tommy's sweaty back.

With his last strength he managed to pull out before collapsing beside his mate, completely out of breath, and was pulled into the arms of his equally panting lover.

With a pang of guilt Merton remembered Steven's warning and began to feel for movements in Tommy's belly to check on their cubs.

"Don't worry Mert, they're fine, I guess we rocked them to sleep…mm, that feels good" sighed Tommy and pressed his belly a bit more into Merton's oily hands which were still roaming over his taut stomach.

"I´m glad that you like it, for somehow I can't keep my hands of your belly - it's just so amazing, seeing it grow and feel how they're moving in there, knowing that we did this….that our love made this possible. A part of you connected with a part of me, and bam! New life."

Hearing the love and awe in Merton's tone and seeing how reverently he touched the bulge that contained their children brought tears to Tommy's eyes, before his beloved could grow alarmed he quickly reassured him "Don't worry, its just those damn hormones…I love you Merton."

This earned him a blinding smile "I love you too…good night!"

They pulled the blanket over themselves and cuddled together, as close as Tommy's belly allowed, with their kids cradled safely between them as they embraced.

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

In the next chapter we'll have the birth, but don't worry, I'll mark the yucky parts for those who prefer to skip them.

Also we'll have a wedding, with Tommy among people again for the first time in months….and forced to explain where those two babies come from.

But first, review please! I'd like to hear your opinion about Silver!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I only own the storyline and my bunch of OC's.

Yeah, I know, it took me long enough, but therefore you're getting an extra-long chapter. Enjoy!

Warning: There's an animalistic(!) birth in this chapter, meaning yucky body fluids and stuff. If you don't want to read about it, skip the part between the xxxxxx-lines.

16. Chapter

Tommy groaned as he rolled out of bed, it was the beginning of May and meanwhile he was _huge. _

What had looked like a watermelon before was now a gigantic pumpkin and made it difficult for him to move at all. His ankles were badly swollen - not that he was able to see his feet anymore, mind you – he needed to pee like three times per hour, including at night, and his back hurt perpetually, even in wolf form.

Moreover he felt incredibly full, ready to burst, which is why he could barely eat anymore, only tiny portions, mostly raw meat and fresh fruits, what in turn worried Steven and Merton, both not tiring to remind him how he needed the nutrients and always urging him to have another bite.

All in all Tommy was _really_ looking forward to not being pregnant anymore.

Making his way to the bathroom yet again he threw a short look at his peacefully sleeping mate, infinitely grateful for having him by his side.

Somehow Merton managed to always be there for him but without stifling him and often knew what Tommy wanted before he could voice it, after being friends and lovers for so long they knew each other inside out.

He was most understanding and remained patient with him through it all, even at times when Tommy lost it for a moment and snapped at him, knowing it were just the hormones talking.

Feeling like a midnight snack he went upstairs into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich with anchovies, candied chillies and of course his all-time favourite raw rabbit liver, a glass of chocolate milk completed the meal.

Munching happily he made his way back to their bedroom where Merton was just sitting up, blinking sleepily. "There you are; I was worried! I woke up and you weren't there and I couldn't hear you in the bathroom and…"

A big yawn interrupted his words and Tommy couldn't help but chuckle, they truly were like an old married couple sometimes, unable to sleep on without having the other by their side.

"It's ok Mert, I'll be back in a minute, just let me finish my sandwich and brush my teeth."

Merton nodded but continued to watch him, suddenly not so sleepy anymore as he took in his beautiful mate illuminated by the soft light of their bedside lamp. Tommy was radiating that inner glow often associated with pregnancy, his skin held a rosy tint and his hair had become even softer then usual.

He could feel the werewolf's gaze roam all over him as well, recognising that particular glint in his lover's eyes he extended his hand "Come here."

Tommy blushed "Merton…you know I want you but I can't…I´m just too damn big."

"Don't worry big guy, just let me do all the work."

He pulled Tommy down next to him and made him lie on his side with the upper leg bent and propped up to give him full access.

Merton smiled soothingly at his still embarrassed looking lover "Relax Tommy, its not your fault that you can't reciprocate at the moment….how about you tell me what you want to do to me once you're not so unmovable anymore?"

He stroked the inner thigh in front of him lightly, teasingly as his voice grew husky "Describe it to me, all the details, leave nothing out."

"Uh, ok…First, we'd give our kids to Rock and Shao for a few hours so we're completely undisturbed." Tommy began to pant in anticipation as Merton's hand wandered higher, agonizingly slow, towards his cock.

"Go on; then I go further up."

"The moment we're alone I'd pin you to the wall and kiss you, wrap your legs around my waist and grind into you until we're both breathless and begging for mercy…yes!" That enthusiastic outcry was the result of Merton licking his tip.

"We'll undress as fast as possible without ripping something while stumbling towards the bed…god Merton…" Tommy had to close his eyes; the sight of Merton lying on his belly, utterly turned on by his words and grinding down into the mattress was more than he could take.

He had to take a deep breath before he was able to continue "We're falling onto the bed, still kissing, and I prepare you…I'll have to be really thorough cause after all that time you'll be incredibly tight, it'll be almost like our first time again."

Merton groaned around the cock in his mouth at that mental picture and started to finger his entrance while still humping the mattress, his other hand moved to take over for his mouth as he licked his way towards Tommy's balls.

At this point the werewolf went nonvocal, unable to form words anymore he settled for encouraging moans and pleading whines. Merton grinned inwardly, glad to see that his beloved too could hardly wait the day they would be able to go all out again.

He pushed a second finger inside himself and moaned, feeling how right Tommy was, after so many months without action he'd really gotten rather tight. That moan reverberated all through the werewolf's balls, at the very moment Merton's teeth scrapped the sensitive spot behind them, and he was lost.

He came with a howl, shuddering and writhing as his mate jerked him skilfully until his orgasm subsided.

Still panting he was treated to the sight of Merton using his now very slick hand to fist his own cock rapidly while his other hand was still busy at his backside.

As Tommy reached down and raked his furry hand down his mate's chest, carefully teasing his nipples with his claws, it was Merton who was lost, he came with a low, drawn-out moan.

He beamed tiredly at his beloved, utterly exhausted, pulled the blanket over them and spooned Tommy. Embracing his pregnant lover from behind Merton's fingers intertwined with Tommy's as their joint hands rested protectively on the huge mound containing their kids.

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

Merton stretched and sighed contentedly; he and Tommy were currently lying sprawled on a blanket underneath their weeping willow.

A couple of days ago he'd sent his finished manuscript to the publisher, along with a whole stack of Shao's illustrations since he couldn't decide which he liked best and just send them all. Now all he could do was wait and enjoy this sunny mid-May day together with his beloved mate.

Said mate was feeling unusually antsy today, normally the warmth would make him sleepy but instead of napping he was fidgeting restlessly. Eventually he sighed and scrambled to his feet "I'm go for a walk, are you coming with me?"

Merton gaped at him for a moment, answers like 'are you crazy, you're so huge you can barely walk anymore' or 'do you really think it's a good idea to go away from the house and our doctor when you're that near to your due date' were on the tip of his tongue but he didn't voice his concerns.

He could see that Tommy needed to get away for a bit, plus Steven had assured them weeks ago that a bit exercise wouldn't harm him but might actually help his body to get ready for the birth.

So he smiled and said "Sure, just let me get Sparky and Silver, I´m sure they would like a walk as well."

Tommy nodded, knowing perfectly well that Merton didn't had the hellhounds´ pleasure in mind but wanted to take them along so they could run and fetch help in case something was happening.

He was glad though that his mate didn't say it out loud, because as much as he'd been looking forward to holding his kids and not being pregnant anymore, now that the time had come and he could go into labour at any moment he was feeling slightly panic.

Of course Tommy knew he couldn't run from giving birth, nor did he really want to, but he could at least ignore it for a couple of hours.

Without conscious thought his feet found the beaten path which took him deeper into the woods to the cliff above the little lake.

Once there he found a convenient boulder to sit on, looking at the reflection of the slowly setting sun on the water Tommy remembered the many important things in his life had taken place here.

In the beginning this used to be the place where he'd run to when he was scared and feeling terribly lonely, now he was sitting here holding his mate in his arms with a whole pack waiting for him at their home, except for the two four-legged members currently chasing each other playfully around the lake.

Yes, he'd come a long way since he'd come here for the first time, and it was only thanks to the wonderful man in his arms that he'd stayed sane through it all.

Tommy hugged his beloved a bit closer to himself which earned him a blinding smile full of love and his last fears vanished.

Together, they could manage everything.

Meanwhile the sun had set and the first stars were coming out. Tommy stood up with a slight grunt "Time to go home."

Merton nodded, he was relieved to see that the previous tension had left his mate; this little excursion really had done him a world of good, he appeared to be calm and relaxed now.

They lingered for another few minutes to watch the full moon rise in all its glory as Tommy suddenly felt a twinge in his belly. He knew with instinctive certainty that this was neither a particularly sharp kick nor false alarm, this was _**it**__. _He could feel it in his bones.

"We should really get going now" urged Tommy, keeping the reason for his sudden hurry to himself for he didn't wish to worry Merton. The Goth raised an eyebrow but complied.

They made their way home through the forest without problems, but just as they were back at the weeping willow the first real contraction hit and Tommy doubled over with a cry.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Warning: Birth ahead! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He had to brace himself against the tree trunk to remain upright, with gritted teeth against the pain and thus unable to answer Merton's frightened questions about what was going on.

What he could do though was grab his mate's hand and place it on his stomach.

Merton's eyes went impossibly huge as he felt the muscles ripple in the suddenly rock-hard abdomen, finally realising what was going on he yelled at Sparky "Get Steven, quick!"

The hellhound dashed off at top speed, just as the contraction abated, and the Goth hurriedly helped a heavily panting Tommy to lie down on the blanket right before the next one began.

Two contractions later, each of which had been more painful than the previous one, Steven came running with his doctor's bag. He only needed one good look at Tommy to deduce what was happening and hastily started to undress his patient.

"You need to transform into your wolf form as quick as possible. You see, usually the first heavy contraction cracks the amniotic sac and causes the waters to break, but since you've got no outlet the water is trapped and with every contraction your womb squashes against that huge balloon full of water which is not only extremely painful but would also before long become harmful to both you and the kids still swimming inside of it."

The moment Tommy was transformed an astounding amount of water gushed from between his legs and the huge she-wolf let out an almost human sigh of relief as the unbearable pressure in its belly lessened significantly.

Stevens's words proved to be true; the next contraction was far less painful, not exactly what one would call pleasurable, but bearable, and Tommy relaxed. This he could handle.

Meanwhile the commotion had reached the rest of the pack and they came out to see if they could help but Steven shooed them away. "Sorry guys, but we need peace and quiet here….though you could go ahead and prepare everything for the little ones, because given the short intervals between the contractions I reckon this won't take too long."

"Alright, we get their room ready, howl if you need something." Steven nodded absentmindedly, his focus completely on his patient.

Soon the contractions were coming in quick succession and Merton tried his best soothe his beloved who was obviously in pain again. His whimpers and strangled howls were breaking the Goth's heart, he felt so helpless, unable to ease his mate's pain, as he continued to pet him softly.

As the contractions grew longer and more intense Steven addressed his alpha "Ok Tommy, this is it, I want you to spread your hind legs as far as possible, and when the next one comes, push!"

The temporarily female wolf complied, with its head burrowed in Merton's arms for comfort Tommy pushed with all his might. Choked yowls rung out as his whole body shook under the force of the cramping muscles in his belly before he collapsed panting for breath the second the contraction subsided.

Steven gave his winded friend a little pep talk "You're doing very well; I can already see the first cub's head, come on, just one more time, push!"

The she-wolf pressed, face contorted into a snarl from pain and accompanied by a long-drawn-out whimper from its parent the first cub slid out of Tommy. Age-old instincts kicked in and made him turn around and lick his cub clean, biting through the umbilical cord and ingesting the remnants of the amniotic sack as well as the afterbirth in the process.

Merton swallowed hart, slightly grossed out, but reminded himself sternly that this was perfectly normal behaviour for a wolf and that certain substances in the placenta were actually beneficial for the recovery.

A tiny cry pierced the night air and his eyes instantly riveted on the now squirming bundle of black fur between Tommy's front paws. Carefully, almost hesitantly Merton extended his hand to touch their first born, amazed at how warm and downy its fur felt under his hand.

Steven threw an expert look at the little one "It's a girl…congratulations you two, you have a healthy daughter."

Merton grinned from ear to ear while blinking back tears of joy and was about to say something when a shudder ran through Tommy, reminding them all that they weren't done yet.

Steven hurriedly wrapped the little girl into a soft towel and shoved her in Merton's arms so she would be out of harm's way while her brother was born, knowing from experience that even the most caring mother could accidentally hurt her newborn when blinded by the birth pangs.

The Goth cradled his daughter while Tommy started pressing again, encouraged by his mate "You can do it, only a bit more and we can welcome our little boy."

His words seemed to work, the exhausted she-wolf gathered her last strength for a mighty push before collapsing for good.

It had been enough, Steven carefully picked up the chestnut-coloured cub and laid it near Tommy's muzzle so he could lick his cub dry and thus get its circulation going.

After a few loving strokes of a rough tongue, the second cub started squirming as well, his little whimpers answered by his sister who was turning her head from side to side as if searching for something.

Steven grinned "They're hungry, that's a good sign…we need to let them feed from you Tommy anyway, it's the last step that signalises to your body that you're done with the pregnancy."

They placed the cubs at Tommy's belly and they started sniffing instantly, following their noses to the teats which were already leaking milk. The alpha had nowhere near as much milk as a real she-wolf or a female werewolf would have had, every teat only contained a mouthful, but that was part of the spell.

Merton and Steven made sure that the little ones found and drank from each, and the moment the wolf's teats were empty and the cubs were full, a radiant glow engulfed all three.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX It's safe again! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Goth blinked rapidly against the brightness, desperate to see what was happening to his family, and was able to perceive the shift of their silhouettes. Seconds later the light subsided and left behind a completely human Tommy and two normal looking babies with black respectively brown fuzz on their heads.

The werewolf was dead tired, too weak to even lift his head, but shared a happy smile with his mate while Steven howled for Rock. The tall, broad shouldered black had no trouble at all to carry his drained friend inside where Shao was already drawing him a bath and had everything ready for the little ones.

Her and Rock took on the task to swaddle and dress the babies and left it to Merton to give his mate a sponge bath to clean him from sweat and various other body fluids. Tommy nodded off during the washing but jerked awake again when he was lifted out of the tub and carried to his bed.

He blinked sleepily, eyes searching for his children until Shao pushed a rather unusual looking crib into his line of vision.

Seeing his children safe and sound Tommy finally relaxed and allowed himself to fall asleep, he barely heard how Rock informed them that he'd put a bottle warmer already filled with some bottles of formula on their chest of drawers for later and by the time Merton crawled into bed beside him he was already dead to the world.

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

About a week later Tommy was out in the garden again to enjoy the warm sun.

He was still rather shocked to see how long it took him to recover, the first days after the delivery he'd been as weak as a kitten, barely able to leave the bed to go to the bathroom, and felt awfully guilty for leaving the care for their children solely to Merton during that time.

By now though he was starting to feel like himself again; thanks to the ministrations of his pack, several restorative injections from Steven and, of course, lots of TLC from his mate.

Soft baby gurgles drew his attention to where his son was currently resting in his cradle. Said cradle had been a surprise gift from Steven and Rock and was made after traditional Lycantria fashion.

Carved from a single piece of a large trunk, without legs but a rounded underside it looked like a huge walnut shell, the effect was increased by the two hollows meant for the kids.

As unusual as it looked, the design proved to be ingenious; the rounded bottom made it easy to rock the kids, yet a simple frame being slid around was all it took to lock it in place at night and thanks to holes at the corners they could hang it into sturdy tree branches where their babies would be rocked by a gentle breeze, like now.

Tommy's sharp ears picked up the unmistakable sound of Merton's old hearse backfiring and started to smile, happy to have his mate back home with him. Only a few minutes later the Goth came into the garden, carrying a sleepy Aurora, and made a beeline for his beloved.

"How did it go?" asked Tommy while his mate tucked their daughter in beside her brother, making sure that she was cushioned and blanketed by the soft, warm rabbit furs that lined the crib.

"Like clockwork, that old chatter-box started grilling me the minute I entered Steven's office."

"And you're sure she bought your story"

"Absolutely, she was hanging on my every word. You should have seen her horrified expression as I told her how my 'one-night-stand' wanted to abort our 'accident'- but luckily I could convince 'my ex' to have the child and give it to me… in the end the old bat even praised me for being such a 'responsible young man'." Merton grinned.

Tommy mirrored his grin, relieved that part one of their plan to explain the existence of their kids away had worked so well.

They had thought long and hard about this problem until Steven returned one evening complaining loudly about the chatty old receptionist he inherited from his predecessor Doctor Baker. That was when it had hit them, what was more unsuspicious as a newly-minted father seeing the doctor with his baby, to get a vaccination or whatever?

Trust Mildred Buford, one of Pleasantville's worst gossip mongers, to do the rest.

"We'll give it a couple of weeks, and then it's my turn with old Millie…though I´m a bit worried, I don't have your ready tongue and I suck at lying."

"Then don't" Merton's grin became mischievous "I bet she'll spread the news twice as fast if Steven tells her 'strictly in confidence' how you met the love of your live on your backpacking holiday in Europe, only for the poor young girl to die in childbirth.

And since you're still grieving you can't be expected to answer any questions because everything is still too fresh and painful …that way, all you'll have to do is look really sad and teary-eyed and mutter something along the lines of 'only going on for our son, she would have wanted it' and Mildred will melt."

Tommy couldn't help it; he burst out laughing "Oh, you're so evil…what would I ever do without you?" whispered the werewolf as pulled his mate into his arms.

"I don't know, luckily we'll never have to find out" answered a smiling Merton and kissed his beloved.

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

A few days before the wedding the pack helped Dean to move his personal belongings into Vera's house and rearrange her furniture to suit the new situation.

Tommy, who was still banned from heavy lifting and such, helped his father to string dozens of fairy lights in preparation for the wedding party.

Sally was meanwhile babysitting the twins, both to distract her from feeling empty-nested and to give Merton a much needed quiet afternoon to himself after the stressful last weeks.

The brunette was more than happy to have her grandkids to herself for a few hours, both Dawkins´ had been enamoured with the two from the first time they saw them.

Granted, Sally was still a bit miffed that Aurora would officially be a Dingle and not a Dawkins but she could see her son's point, the little girl with her brilliant blue eyes and raven-black hair was the spitting image of Merton, just like her brother with his green-brown eyes and slightly curled chestnut hair looked like a mini-Tommy.

Of course this didn't stop her from cooing to both kids; heck her high-pitched mommy talk and delighted squeals could probably be heard by half of the neighbourhood.

Suddenly the small-town idyll was disturbed by a screeching of tyres as Merton's hearse arrived in what got to be the highest possible speed of the old car.

Tommy frowned; he knew Merton had planned to take a long, relaxing bath and watch his favourite vampire-movie afterwards, so why was he here? Seeing his love exit the car, with his hair still wet and clothes in disarray as if he'd dressed in great haste only increased his worries.

He rushed towards him "Merton, what's wrong?"

"Tommy, you won't believe it, I'd just gotten into the tub and then the telephone rang, and…oh god it's just so…wah…I simply had to tell you right away, and…I mean, I knew you all loved it, but who knew the guys in Frisco would like it as well, and…"

"Merton, breathe! I can't understand a thing that you're saying" ordered a laughing Tommy, for even if he didn't know what this was about yet, he understood enough to realise that nothing was wrong. This was Merton's excited babble, not his terrified one.

Tommy ushered the Goth into the garden, made him sit down and handed him a glass of lemonade, and after a few sips and deep breaths he'd finally calmed down enough to talk coherently.

"I've got a call from that publisher in San Francisco, you know, the one I send my manuscript to. They're interested Tommy, they really want to publish my book! I´m supposed to fly over next week to speak about details, clear up some last questions, but only mere formalities, they basically have the contract ready already, only waiting for me to sign it."

Tommy was speechless; no wonder Merton was giddy with excitement!

Before he could say something his dad beat him to it "Congratulations Merton, however I strongly suggest that you'll check that contract carefully, better yet show it a layer, before you sign it.

If you want I could give you the number of one of my old college friends who's partner in a law firm in San Francisco, if you send her my regards she'll give you an appointment even though it's at such short notice."

Merton smiled warmly "Thanks Bob, I'll gladly take you up on that offer….oh, before I forget it, they asked that Shao accompanies me – seems as if I´m not the only one who thinks that her illustrations are extraordinarily good and fit my story just perfectly."

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

Finally the big day was there, Dean and Vera were getting married. The wedding ceremony went off without a hitch, bride and groom were beaming, Sally was crying, even the weather played along and bestowed a perfect cloudless sky upon them.

None of the onlookers would have guessed how much trouble this day had caused beforehand.

The complete wedding arrangements had been a series of compromises between Sally's fancy ideas and need to impress and the couple's wishes.

The first controversy had been finding the wedding dress; Sally pictured a dream of lace and frills, Vera wanted something far more lo-fi. She found the dress of _her_ dreams in a plain sleeveless strap dress with flared skirt made of ivory-coloured silk, with no lace or frills whatsoever.

Sally looked close to hyperventilating so Dean used all his diplomatic skills and pointed out that such a 'classic' dress would highlight their antique bridal veil just perfectly.

Said veil was a family heirloom and so beautiful that even Vera forgot her hate for lace, a snow-white square of see-through silk with a handbreadth of French lace in the shape of roses and peonies in shades of palest pink around the edges.

Seeing that Sally still looked unconvinced and Vera was getting more fed up with the discussion by the minute the clever saleswoman, who was desperate to avoid a shouting match in her shop, quickly told them of the possibility to have their chosen dress individually embroidered.

After a lot more arguing the two headstrong women finally agreed to take the dress but to add a broad embroidery-bordure to the hem matching the pattern of the veil and Dean breathed a sigh of relief. Disaster averted….for now.

The next main issue had been the party; Sally wanted a huge affair with half of Pleasantville just as Tommy had predicted, Dean and Vera wanted a private wedding without boring speeches of people they barely knew, screw the 'golden opportunity to foster his political career'.

This time it _did_ came to shouts, they yelled at each other until all three were hoarse and Bob Dawkins put his foot down, reminding his wife that it wasn't _her _wedding she was planning and that the wishes of the couple should come first.

She backed down, truly remorsefully, which mollified the couple and they grudgingly agreed to a champagne reception after the ceremony, but under the condition that it would be over after the cake was cut and they would have the rest of the day to celebrate with just their friends and family.

Sally beamed.

Another who had made the acquaintance with Sally's stubbornness during that time was Rock, patiently explaining to her again and again that most of her wishes simply weren't viable.

He was a gardener, not a wizard, he couldn't transplant full-grown trees nor could he turn their normal-sized backyard into a park, and the limited timeframe as well as her everything but green fingers didn't exactly make things easier for him.

But he did it; after months of hard work Sally's pitiful red roses looked healthier then they had in years, were in full bloom and had gained a few pink sisters, some quickly growing flowering vines twined over and around the less sightly corners like the garden dump or the garage wall and the grass was the lush green one usually only found on a golf course.

He'd even managed to find some exotic-looking flowers Sally could show off with but were resilient enough to survive her less than mediocre gardening skills, in addition to those he also planted romantic classics like forget-me-nots and bleeding heart, all in all Rock had turned the garden into a sea of flowers which was exhaling a divine scent and made the neighbours go green with envy.

Now on the after-wedding champagne reception Sally was bragging to her friends from the country club with her beautiful garden as well as with the tasteful ikebana-style floral arrangements made from orchids and water lilies Shao had done; something unique and near unheard of in Pleasantville so far.

Unbeknown to all, this day would be the start of a trend and the bored upper-class housewives would soon start badgering Shao for lessons in ikebana and Japanese lifestyle in general.

Everything was running smoothly, the impressive five-tiered layer cake had been cut and turned out to be as delicious as it had looked, the conservatives were slowly getting over their shock at seeing the bride wear piercings (thankfully the dress covered her tattoos) and so far Bob had managed to nip all tries of his fellow party members to make a boring speech in the bud.

Needless to say the sight of Tommy carrying a new-born drew a lot of attention, but Sally and Bob deflected the questions about the mysterious origins of their first grandchild with the practiced ease of seasoned politicians, only giving short answers that matched the story Merton had cooked up which was, thanks to Millie Buford, already a matter of common knowledge.

Finally the official part was over and they could celebrate among themselves, the men discarded their ties and both Lori and Vera were more than happy to exchange their pumps for sneakers.

Tommy and his mate retreated upstairs into his old bedroom, where they had earlier placed their baby-stuff, to lay their meanwhile very drowsy children down for a little nap.

A curious Sally went with them, watching amazed how naturally they had become at changing diapers and bottle-feeding, but wrinkled her nose at the sight of their cradle.

"Seriously Tommy, why do you insist on putting your children in this horrible thing? You know your father and I would be delighted to buy you a real one, with washable bedding instead of those unhygienic furs…and then this horrible monster staring down at the kids, its going to give them nightmares, you'll see!"

"Mom, please, we've been over this a dozen times already…that carved wolf head at the foot of the crib is there to calm them, you know, it's as if their mom has an eye on them all the time. Same with the furs, to them it feels as if they're cuddling up to me in my wolf form.

You got to keep in mind that, even though they won't transform for a while yet, Taddie and Aurora are werewolves, and some of their needs differ from normal human children."

Sally's shoulders slumped, and suddenly Merton realised what the real problem was: Tommy's mom wanted to help them and do something nice for her grandkids, but didn't knew how.

"Oh, uhm, Sally…you know, just the other day Tommy and I spoke about getting a mobile, and how before long we'll need high chairs and a playpen and whatnot, and we wanted to ask if maybe you could come shopping with us, to give us some advice on what we'll need, seeing as you're an experienced mother…"

His words worked wonders; Sally went from depressed to chipper near instantly, promising to help them find the best possible equipment for their kids and even gave the startled Goth a kiss on the cheek before going downstairs again.

Tommy pulled his mate into a hug "Thanks Mert, this was a really nice thing to do…I guess she's feeling a bit dispensable now that Dean and me are both out of the house."

Merton happily returned the embrace, mumbling "You're welcome" and kissed him. They didn't return to the party until much later.

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

In the next chapter: The publication of Merton's book has some unforeseen consequences which results in new challenges for Tommy and his pack.

Also, if there's a particular scene with the kids you would like to read, feel free to tell me! I always read every single review!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Oh, you know the deal - I don't own BwoC, nor do I own South Park or Twilight.

Note: Yeah, I know, long time no see, but therefore you're getting an extra-long chapter, I just couldn't find an end this time….oh, and there will be a bit of Twilight-bashing, I simply couldn't resist.

17. Chapter

Meeting with the publisher turned out to be a far less stuffy affair than Merton had feared.

The small company was specialised on gothic fantasy and horror books and comics and it showed, meaning for once he wasn't the odd man out with his all black attire.

Heck, most of the staff - whether male or female - was wearing eyeliner and several also black nail polish.

The Goth almost had to remind himself that this was a business meeting and not a gathering of the Gothic Fantasy Guild.

As he'd been told on the phone, they truly only wanted to go over some last details, like making sure that Shao had a green card which became a moot point the moment they heard she had citizenship through marriage.

They spent hours going over possible layouts for the cover and discussing what illustrations would be used for the book, finally choosing to use most of the pictures.

This would add an explicit manga-touch which would set Merton's book off against the competition and hopefully gain some readers among the comic-fans too.

"Ok, I guess that's it so far," grinned Hank, the 'nosy creep' that had given his business card to Merton more than a year ago, visibly pleased that his stab in the dark back then had paid off and earned his company a promising new writer.

"Just one more thing" added Trish, a pale, twitchy caffeine-addict with blond hair that Merton had secretly dubbed 'Tweek'.

"You see, because of the many references to movies, TV-shows and other books we've asked our lawyers to go over your book, to prevent lawsuits for copy-right infringement. Thankfully they found nothing….except your pen name."

Merton's face was one big asking sign; he didn't understand what she was talking about, what pen name?

"I´m not sure who exactly the present owner of that legendary horror-book collection is, but I don't think any member of the Dingle-family would appreciate to find their name used to increase the number of sales of some book…."

Merton gaped, finally realising where Trish was going. Instead of interrupting her monologue about possible legal repercussions he simply handed her his driver's license. This effectively shut her up and caused _her_ to gape.

Fighting hard against the chuckles that wanted to escape at the sight of her bug-eyed stare he explained "I didn't use a pen name, I am a born Dingle – and the current owner of the collection.

That was actually the main reason I was in that library last year, to extend the loan deal…." Merton trailed off as he noticed that everyone was staring at him as if he'd grown a second head.

He swallowed nervously "Hey, you can ask the chief librarian if you don't believe me…"

"No, it's not that" hurried Hank to assure him "it's just…do you have any idea how much street credibility this is giving you? I mean, every idiot can put on black clothes and dye his hair, but die-hard Goths recognise those posers in no time and merely scoff at them, this makes you more believable than…dunno…keeping a snake as a pet or something like that."

At this, Merton blushed while Shao burst out laughing "Merton _is_ keeping a snake as a pet, an albino python named Rasputin…and he drives an old hearse, founded the local Gothic Fantasy Guild and owns enough weird stuff to fill a chamber of horrors, including rusty chains and plaster skulls. Trust me; he's as authentic as a Goth can be."

Merton was crimson by now but Hank and the others looked like Christmas has come early.

"A true Goth with an affinity for spooky things running in the family…oh, our PR department is going to love this. You wouldn't mind if we do a home story for our internet page? Just an interview and a few pictures..."

"Hu? Uhm, no, it's ok, just give me a little warning before you come so I can hide my dirty laundry…" 'and the signs of me living with Tommy' added Merton mentally.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

While Shao and Merton were in San Francisco Tommy visited Coach Henley, bringing the kids with him, much to the elder man's delight.

They talked over coffee and agreed on the best way Tommy could take over for the other man.

He'd start teaching English and sports with the beginning of the new school year at the end of August and would undertake more and more duties within the team during the course of the next year, making it a fluent passage for the Badgers.

"I´m glad that this is settled, to be honest I´m feeling how I´m getting a bit long in the tooth, it's time for me to retire" admitted the old Coach. "But may I ask who will be taking care of your kid while you're at work?"

"Thankfully that's no problem, my best friend ended up in the same situation as me, and we've decided to help each other and raise our kids together.

He's mostly working from home and can take care of Taddie during the day, and I take care of his Aurora while he's out of town, like now. Then there are still our other friends, and if everything else fails, my mom. She loves them both and uses every opportunity to spoil them rotten."

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

Tommy's start at school went smoothly, the students loved his relaxed and friendly way and the team welcomed him back as if he'd never been gone.

Merton was meanwhile watching the kids, their twins as well as little William seeing as both Shao and Rock were currently very busy.

The gardener had gained lots of new customers after word got round what a good job he'd done for the Dawkins; suddenly half of Pleasantville found they needed to have their garden redone as well.

Shao was alternating her time between translating comics for Merton's publisher who had all but jumped onto the opportunity to hire a graduated translator with knowledge of the teenage and street slang that one could find in no dictionary, and giving ikebana-courses in a backroom at Jeanne's flower shop.

Granted, those snobbish and presumptuous upper-class housewives were trying her patience on more than one occasion, especially when they bragged with their half-baked book knowledge of Japanese culture, but they were paying exceedingly well.

Thus she readily agreed to teach them Japanese cooking as well, even though she knew they would annoy her endlessly.

Merton enjoyed the days with the kids; he used the time they spent napping to catch up on his research on the supernatural so they would be prepared for every possible danger.

His book would come out on Halloween; the publisher had already started advertising it and done the home story which was now online on their homepage, along with the summary of the book and a few of Shao's illustrations as teaser.

Luckily he and Tommy had managed to hide all evidences of the true nature of their relationship from the photographer and the interviewer for the duration of their stay.

The Goth knew that the relative quietness would be over soon, not only would he have to go on a promo tour with signing sessions and the like once his book was out but also because Lori had recently announced that she, just like Mary and Callisto, was pregnant.

The mere thought of the under normal circumstances already very temperamental blonde having mood swings was enough to bring the sweat to any sane person's brow.

What was more, his twins would start walking next spring and god knew it was already hard enough to keep an eye on them now that they were only crawling.

He only had to think back to the time he'd left them for a few minutes in Sparky's care to fetch new clothes and diapers after a burp had rather sticky results, taking the soiled clothes with him to soak them before the carrot puree would leave stains.

Those few minutes were all it took to turn his little angles and the two watching dogs into mud-covered monsters.

As a rueful Sparky had later on explained, the two naked kids had had felt the need to answer the call of nature and decided to do so by following the example their fluffy friend had set: by lifting their leg at the nearest tree, or rather at a large bush in the nearest flower bed.

Since they were no dogs of course all they managed was to wet themselves, but what was worse, the liquid running down their chubby legs turned the soil underneath them into mud which inspired them to an impromptu mud fight.

Sparky and Silver happily joined in the fray after the first handful of mud had found its way into their fur and used their powerful hind paws to sling large amounts of damp soil onto the squealing kids.

It took Merton nearly two hours to clean the four culprits and he gave Sparky and Silver a stern lecture on what exactly he meant when he said 'watch over the kids for a bit' while he hosed them down.

Rock wasn't too happy either after he saw the state his gardenias were in after their little stunt but Tommy merely laughed, pointing out it could have been much worse.

"How?" asked a stunned Merton.

"Easy, imagine they had tried lifting their leg on a stinging nettle; then we'd have to deal with mewling cubs for days."

The memory still made him chuckle and he was glad he'd thought of making a few pictures for their brand new family album before he cleaned them.

Said album, courtesy of Sally Dawkins who insisted they needed one, was already half full, him and Tommy just couldn't help theirselves, near everything their little ones did seemed worth preserving.

Merton would have deemed them insane but he'd seen Rock and Shao act the same way, also Sally's collection of several thick tomes with pictures of Tommy's and Dean's childhood, so he'd come to the conclusion that all parents suffered from this particular madness.

True to her word Sally had helped them to find the best possible equipment for their kids. Her help turned out to be invaluable, without her Tommy and Merton would have been utterly lost the moment they entered the shops.

Who would have thought there was such a huge variety of everything, from tiny furniture to plush toys in all colours of the rainbow? The many different baby buggies alone were mind-boggling, with four or three wheels, foldout sun screen or integrated musical clock, then there was the question what would be better, one for twins or two separate ones?

By the time they were leaving the shop both Tommy and Merton were near a nervous breakdown but they'd managed to get what they wanted, vertically adjustable highchairs that would fit for a few years and one overlarge playpen big enough for their twins and little William to play in with room to spare for Steven's and Lori's kid.

They'd opted for natural materials and Tommy had discretely sniffed everything to make absolutely sure their stuff would be free from chemicals that could possibly harm their kids, knowing that werewolves were far more sensitive to those things.

But, much to the salesladies and Sally's shock, no buggy, because both Mary and Shao had warned them that their little ones got antsy in those contraptions since they couldn't feel and smell their parent anymore.

So instead they decided on a couple of baby slings, something _that_ exotic and unheard of in Pleasantville that the flustered shop women had to order it specifically.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

It was the day before Halloween and Merton was packing a small overnight bag, his publisher expected him to be there for the book launch party tomorrow. For the first time since he'd started writing it he was truly nervous, what if the people wouldn't like his book?

The story was nothing special; he'd basically written what had happened to Tommy, turned himself into a gothic version of Dean who worked in a video rental store (to explain the various movie-references) and made the female protagonist a rather unbalanced mix between Stacy and Lori – friendly and harmless cheerleader during the day, vampire with serious attitude problems at night.

This was actually the only part of the story where he got really creative; he made her use highly efficient sun blocker as well as self tanning cream to hide the unnatural paleness, and while her human part had a huge crush on the werewolf during the day her nightly alter ego was barely able to tolerate another supernatural predator on her hunting ground.

"You see, both are newly turned, completely inexperienced and thus constantly fighting against their developing nonhuman instincts, fearing they'll end up killing each other, which makes their budding romance complicated to say the least.

If I ever get to write a part two they'll be matured enough as werewolf respectively vampire to realize that their inner predators aren't so much interested in killing each other but merely trying to determine who's the boss.

After all, the structures of a vampire coven aren't that different from a pack, both have a definite leader, and once those two settle this issue in a fight their inner beasts will get along just fine and their love can finally blossom." Merton had explained to his friends after they'd read the pre-printed copy.

"I truly think you've done a great job, but I´m a bit worried about the many details about werewolves…"

"Don't worry Steven; I've mixed so many movie-clichés and snippets of various legends together, no human will be able to tell apart the real facts from the made up stuff" reassured Merton his concerned friend.

However, what no one was taking into account was the possibility that his book wouldn't be read by humans alone…

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

The launch party with following signing session went very well, once Merton had overcome his initial shyness he chatted with the invited reporters from various gothic magazines, members of fantasy clubs and role play communities who in turn quickly came to the conclusion that he wasn't a wannabe but a true Goth.

Before long they were exchanging horror-stories about their high school time and tips how to reach the next level of Dungeons & Dragons.

There was a brief commotion as the kid sister of one of the guests, who was obviously not a Goth if her Glee-club shirt was anything to go by, declared that Twilight was the best vampire-movie ever - which of course caused an outcry of all present.

Before they could tar and feather the chick Merton spoke up "Look girl, moon over Robert Pattinson all you like, but Twilight is about vampires as much as the Playboy is about women's liberation. If you want to read a romance with fangs, try Bram Stoker's Dracula."

He gave her a short summary of his most favourite book, more a passionate plea really, and at the end she was visibly hooked, even asking her brother if he would loan her his copy.

The heavily tattooed Goth standing beside her, who'd been wishing only a few minutes ago the ground would open up and swallow him, was now beaming as he nodded enthusiastically and threw Merton a look that was both awed and utterly grateful. He winked in return and mouthed 'You're welcome'.

Turning around and seeing the curious looks of the spectators he blushed and explained "I couldn't help but sympathize with the guy, my younger sister is just the same, only instead of Twilight she is in the evil clutches of 'Hannah Montana'."

Several people winced in sympathy at this confession and soon everybody resumed their talks from before the interruption.

Unbeknownst to Merton, the incident caused him to end up in many of the onlooker's good books, starting with the anti-Twilight-fraction and of course the grateful brother who enthused in his blog about how Merton had managed to 'convert' his before 'confused' poor sister to the 'dark side'.

The whole gothic community acknowledged him as being one of them and did their best to promote him; this along with the good reviews of his book earned him sales figures beyond expectation, much to the delight of his publisher.

He ended up doing way more signing sessions then what was initially planned and even a radio interview or two as it became apparent that not only gothic and fantasy fans bought his book but also completely average teens and twens.

It was the week before Christmas already when Merton finally returned home, rather exhausted but happy, and was greeted at the door by Tommy who immediately pulled him in a hug.

"I've missed you so much! And I´m not the only one…" the werewolf pulled his mate into their living room where the cubs were napping in their playpen near the crackling fireplace.

Merton instantly rushed over to them, amazed at how much they'd grown in such a short time. As if they could sense his presence Aurora and Taddie stirred, blinking sleepily, only to squeal delighted and crawl towards their parent the moment they spotted him.

Merton got teary-eyed as he somehow managed to embrace and cuddle both his kids without falling headfirst into their playpen. Tommy came to his aide and pulled him up and over to their couch, where he joined the group hug.

"I missed you all too, and I promise I won't be away for so long anymore…things were just crazy those last few weeks. No one had expected my book to be such a real zinger, they already had to hurry and print a second edition for Christmas sales.

Needless to say my publisher is over the moon, it's been ages since their small company has been deep into the black numbers, most years they're struggling hard not to end up in the red…their market niche is rather small and underground comics don't yield much."

The kids were still rather sleepy so they put them back down to continue their nap.

The Goth calmly wiped some baby-drool off of his cheek before he suddenly pounced on Tommy, knocking him over so that he fell back onto the couch with Merton on top.

Not missing a beat he gave his lover a long, deep kiss that left both breathless.

"I _really _ missed you" purred Merton into Tommy's ear, using the chance to nip the lobe while simultaneously grinding his hip down.

The other shuddered, both at the bodily stimulation as at the words, he knew that husky tone of voice, his mate was incredibly horny.

Not that Tommy was faring any better, they'd never been separated for so long before so he was more than looking forward to 'welcome' his lover properly. "I've already arranged it with Shao that she takes our little ones for the rest of the day…she's in the kitchen right now, I only need to give her the word."

Merton nodded and slid with cat-like grace off of him and went towards their spiral staircase, giving him one last meaningful look before descending "Hurry."

Tommy _did_ hurry, yet with moving the playpen and the other stuff their kids would need to Rock and Shao's living room it took him a few minutes, time Merton hadn't wasted.

The sight that greeted him when he entered their bedroom was mesmerizing; his love had drawn the curtains and lit a good dozen candles scattered around their bed, bathing the nude figure lying spread-eagled on the satin sheets in a soft glow.

"God, Merton…" growled Tommy as the scent of vanilla hit his nose, realising that his mate must have already prepared himself since they were still using vanilla-scented lube in memory of their first time.

The werewolf stripped in record time and joined his lover on the bed, kissing him eagerly as both did their best to merge their bodies with one another. Merton groaned appreciatively when Tommy finally entered him and immediately set a fast pace, wrapping his legs around his lover's hips to allow an even deeper penetration.

Both knew they wouldn't last long after being apart for so long so they weren't that surprised when they collapsed in a sated heap less than ten minutes after they'd started. They didn't mind, knowing that this had been just the beginning of their private 'welcome back party'.

Merton was still catching his breath when Tommy already started nuzzling his sweaty chest again; his next move however caught him by surprise as his lover grabbed the lube only to coat three of Merton's fingers with it.

The Goth's mind was still too clouded from his recent orgasm to figure out what that meant until his lover straddled him and placed the slick fingers at his own entrance.

Blue eyes widened in amazement, it was rare that the alpha wanted to bottom. The question must have been visible in his eyes for before he could even voice it Tommy already answered "Yeah, I´m sure, I just need to feel you inside of me today. Please Merton…"

His mate answered him by pulling him down into a deep kiss while his fingers simultaneously started to tease the puckered hole.

When the first finger breached him Tommy had to break their kiss, gasping for air, but soon began to nip and lick the crook of Merton's neck, paying particular attention to his lover's mating mark.

He continued with trailing leisurely kisses all over the pale chest below him while Merton took his time to stretch him thoroughly. No matter how many times an impatiently whining Tommy tried to urge him on, he was unwilling to rush things for fear that he might end up hurting his beloved, though Merton was getting rather impatient himself.

He just couldn't help it; gentle sucking on his mark always had this effect on him.

Tommy was a writhing mess by the time his lover finally deemed him ready and eagerly impaled himself which tore a surprised shout from Merton's lips that morphed into a heartfelt groan.

The werewolf started slowly, with gentle rocking movements while running his furred paws sensuously over the Goth's chest, adding a hint of claws, just like his mate loved it.

Merton moaned and whimpered as his beloved 'punished' him for his earlier teasing in the best possible way, using his internal muscles to squeeze him and wagging his tail between his thighs so that the oh so soft fur brushed the sensitive insides.

Soon though Tommy's self-control snapped and he increased his tempo until his hips were pumping at a speed no human could match.

Merton was in heaven, screaming in ecstasy and babbling incoherent oaths of love that were echoed by deep growls and breathless yowls.

The end came with a mighty howl that shook their surroundings, made their ceiling lamp swing on its cord and drowned out Merton's final shriek of pleasure.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

Merton met up with the others at dinner and after a round of bear hugs, and a good dose of teasing about the 'strange noises' they'd heard earlier, they began to fill him in on what had happened while he was gone.

Shao was still annoyed by her bunch of 'desperate housewives', Rock still had to explain to his clients that there was only so much a good fertilizer could do and that some things just needed time to grow, Steven was struggling with the annual flu epidemic and Lori was happy that she didn't suffer from morning sickness at all – while everyone else suffered from her getting more short-tempered with each passing month.

"And what about you Merton, how does it feel to have fans and give autographs?"

"Kinda weird, but I did meet some interesting people – and earned me a nice check."

He produced a slip of paper and handed it Tommy who whistled "That's indeed nice. It should settle our financial loss from when I was laid up with the pregnancy, and maybe we'll even have something left for a small vacation."

Merton started to grin and the others noted an impish twinkle in his eyes. "Ok, what's going on, what are you not telling us?"

"Well…you see; there are basically two types of payment for an author, the first earns you a bigger sum but in return you pass over all rights to the publisher.

That's what the big companies prefer, they pay you off and when your book becomes a bestseller they'll make a mint, especially if they can sell the film rights to Hollywood, and the author is left out in the cold.

However, they also bear the whole risk should the book flop, which is why the small publishers prefer the second option: you only get a little fixed sum but if the book sells well you'll get a share of the profit."

He paused to take a sip of his coke, noting how Lori's fingers twitched as if she wanted to strangle him. Seems as if the pregnancy did nothing to improve her patience, 'I better continue before she does something drastic'.

"That check is my fixed sum. According to my contract I'll get more should the book ever make it to a second edition…"

"Hold on! Didn't you tell me that they already had to print a second edition for Christmas sales?" interrupted Tommy his mate.

Merton's grin became even wider "Exactly, and from now on I'll be getting fifty cent for each copy they sell." He looked around expectantly but only earned blank looks.

The Goth sighed and explained "The first edition was only about 20.000 books, the second has already 100.000, and by the looks of it there may very well be a third. Hank called me this morning, my book is as from today on Amazon's top 100."

They were all speechless, working out Merton's share in their heads and their eyes grew wide.

Lori whispered "Damn…" and Tommy mumbled "I guess that means we'll have enough for a vacation…"

Merton chuckled "I should say so…and they already asked me to start on writing part two."

He took another sip of his drink, mostly to give the others time to recover from the shock before he went on "We still need to make provisions for the house, so I think it would be for the best if we invest a part of the money.

I've made good experience with investment funds in the past; they're less risky than stocks but offer a decent profit from interest. That's how I increased the sum my grandmother left me, it usually brought me about seven per cent interest, sometimes up to nearly ten.

However I think we should also look ahead and think of the safety of our pack, or rather of our territory.

Granted, Bob and Dean would never sell the land bordering our property, but what about the parts of the woods that officially belong to Muhlenburg, remember how they tried to sell it a couple of years back to that papermill?

That latest developing area came already very close to the forest edge as it is; who says they won't build a camping site near our lake next?"

Tommy growled at the mere thought of strangers trampling around in _his_ territory, scaring off their prey and leaving tons of scattered trash behind, and in the dry summer months all it would take was one badly doused bonfire to set the whole forest ablaze.

Given the glowing eyes all around the table the others didn't like the thought either.

"What do you suggest?"

"Easy, that we're buying the land before someone else does it…but we'll have to be careful not to raise suspicion, one rumour that someone is buying up all the land to build a hotel and the prices will explode. Maybe we could buy a bit ourselves and use Luke, Sam and Mary as straw men for the rest…" Merton shrugged, indicating he hadn't figured out that last part of his plan yet.

Tommy nodded "We'll ask them when they arrive tomorrow."

Asking their friends turned out to be a really good idea, not only did they agree to help with their plan, Luke and Sam even came up with a perfect excuse for them buying the land: the creation of a private nature reserve.

"That way no one gets suspicious why you're buying large connected plots and you can even restrict entrance for campers and hikers if you want. We can help you with the necessary paperwork, with how often you howl and the occasional sighting from afar no one will question if we furnish an opinion about a population of wild wolves in the area, especially since Sam and I are meanwhile acknowledged experts on the subject."

"You're right, it's the perfect solution…I'll talk to my dad, maybe the town will even donate some land for our 'good cause', because if Pleasantville does it, Muhlenburg will as well – they'd do anything not to take the back seat to our town.

But for now, we have something more important to do, right?" Tommy smiled at his pack, namely at the rather nervous looking Shao and Mary. It was the night of the winter solstice and both would be transforming fully for the first time.

The mothers left their kids with Merton and Lori who would keep an eye on all four, though mostly on little William and Mary's Aydan because the twins were already sleeping.

Tommy took the others deep into the woods to a moonlit clearing where they all transformed.

Mary's wolf form looked like her twin's, brown fur and caramel eyes, only with a more slender feminine frame, except for her slightly swollen belly since she was already five months pregnant.

Shao was even a tad smaller than Mary or Christine, no surprise given how tiny she was as a human, and coloured just like her mate: dark, near black fur and sheer yellow eyes.

Soon the eight-headed pack was running through the woods, with the huge silver-brown alpha male at its head. Their joyful howls could be heard for miles and brought a smile on the faces of the few humans in the know, but made most of the people of Pleasantville and Muhlenburg shiver and double-check if their doors were looked.

Several dogs joined in, including Sparky and a by now adolescent Silver of course. They were a bit sad that they had to stay at home but understand that someone had to watch over the vulnerable young of their pack.

Less than two hours later the werewolves returned, feeling slightly cold but beaming with joy as they shook the snow from their hair before entering.

Tommy had taken them on such a short trip purposely, taking no risk to overexert Mary in her condition.

The kids were all sleeping peacefully, huddled up against each other in the playpen in front of the fire while Merton and Lori served their friends a hearty stew as a warming midnight snack. The atmosphere was relaxed and full of laughter, just like at the Christmas Dinner a few days later.

Dean couldn't be there this time; he and Vera had flown to New York to spend the holidays with her family, but Sally and Bob had come. There was only a brief moment of uneasiness when a shocked Sally noticed that her little grandkids were already having a few pieces of the Christmas roast with their mashed potatoes but they'd managed to calm her down rather quickly.

Steven explained to her in his best calming doctor-voice that it was perfectly normal for young werewolves to start eating meat as soon as they were weaned and pointed out that they already had far more teeth than what was considered normal for a human toddler of their age as well.

As stunned as she was, Sally had to admit that Taddie and Aurora seemed to have no problem at all handling the pork meat; they were munching on it at a tempo that Merton had trouble keeping up with dicing their helping for them.

Tommy went to help him, knowing that his love was a bit distracted for he had run across Becky the other day.

So far, she hadn't followed his standing invitation to come over nor had she called him the past years, but the Goth kept on hoping.

He send her little presents to her birthdays and for Christmas, this year it was a voucher for her favourite music store, because he knew how much she loved music but that their parents would only give her some ridiculous fancy clothing she couldn't wear to school anyway like always, and a copy of his book.

Tommy had been there when a sad-eyed Merton had wrapped it and saw the dedication written inside of it: 'for my beloved sister Becky'. He'd hugged his downcast lover, infinitely grateful that he had such a great relationship with his brother, and hoped that this time; Becky would answer the letter accompanying the parcel.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

Merton sighed as he opened yet another fan letter, while it was nice to read how much people liked his book he could really think of better ways to spend this beautiful winter day, like starting a snowball fight with his mate and cuddling in front of their fireplace sipping hot cocoa afterwards.

'I'll answer only five more' he promised himself, 'then I´m going to call it a…' his thought screeched to a halt as a strand of what looked like short brown hair fell out of the envelope and brushed across his fingers.

'Impossible…' and yet, he would have recognised that soft as silk texture everywhere.

Merton hurried to unfold the appertaining letter, his eyes growing bigger the more he read. Carefully hidden among the usual fan talk were several hints that only a werewolf – or someone who had intimate knowledge of them – would be able to understand.

It reminded him of his earliest correspondence with Professor Flugelhof back when he'd still thought he could learn something useful from the man.

He opened the window to the garden to call for his mate who was currently romping about in the snow with Sparky and Silver. "Tommy, could you come inside for a minute?"

His love complied, stomping his boots to get rid of the snow sticking to them so he wouldn't leave a melt water trail and gave Merton a cold-lipped kiss.

"What can I do for you…and when are you finally done in here? The snow is wonderful!" Tommy's beaming smile faltered slightly as he noticed the frown on the Goth's face.

"Take a look at this and tell me if I´m crazy or if this is really what I think it is."

Tommy took one good look at the fur, sniffed it and shouted for Steven, now frowning as well.

The beta came running quickly, having recognised the urgency in his alpha's voice, and was soon sniffing at the strand as well.

Tommy was pacing nervously; the smell of a foreign werewolf in his territory made his hackles rise and brought back old, unpleasant memories, he hoped that Steven, being more experienced with the scents of other werewolves due to his past in a large pack, would be able to tell them more.

The born werewolf inhaled deeply "It's a female…young and fertile; she just reached perfect childbearing age, but something is wrong with her…I can't smell a sickness, yet she's somehow weakened. Just look at her fur, it should be shining but it's completely lustreless."

"That would explain the near desperate undertone of her letter; it's a cry for help."

"Or a trap; there's neither a signature nor a return address. I don't like this Merton."

"Maybe she's merely being cautious…however the postmark is from a town where I'll have a signing session in mid-January, I bet she'll try and meet me there."

Tommy sighed, remembering both Ariel and Muffy the werewolf slayer but also unable to ignore what could be a genuine cry for help. "Ok, but we're taking no risks, I'll accompany you and you'll be staying close to me at all times."

"Uhm, ok, my publisher is booking me a double room anyway, but what about your work? Christmas vacation is going to be over in a few days…"

"I can write him a doctor's certificate; people will just think you've caught the flu like so many others."

Tommy nodded at Steven's suggest "That'll work…let's hope it's really just a werewolf in need and not something far worse."

Who is behind that mysterious letter? Are more people going to realize the truth about Merton's book – that he really knows werewolves - and contact them? Will they be friend or foe…..and maybe most important, will the pack survive Lori's mood swings?

All that and more in my next chapter!

For those of you who are wondering: yes, the scene with the kids was autobiographic; my mom still owns some embarrassing evidence photos - though I swear there were no hellhounds involved and me and my friend didn't manage to avoid the stinging nettle….

And now, review please!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: as if anyone would read this….

Thanks to my lone reviewer fan girl 666! But where is the rest of you guys + galls? Are you all on vacation? If so, lucky you – the weather around here is so shitty at the moment even Alaska would be an improvement…

Note: There'll be a scene involving a phone booth and a 'beeping in the line'. To avoid confusion: in my country, when you use a pay phone and the money is nearly used you'll hear a beeping sound that warns you that you have to insert more coins or your connection will break in about 30 seconds.

And now enjoy the chapter!

18. Chapter

Hanging around the shelves in the very back of the book store Merton was currently signing autographs in without looking suspicious turned out to be far harder than Tommy had anticipated.

He felt utterly out of place among the excited fans, pretending to be interested in a coffee-table book about the historic sites of New England while keeping a close eye on everything, and it didn't exactly help that about eighty percent of those waiting in line were dressed completely black and/or wore fake werewolf ears.

But watching Merton interact with his readers more than made up for any discomfort he might feel from sticking out like a sore thumb, the Goth's eyes were sparkling as he chatted with the people around him, clearly just as happy to meet them as they were to see him.

And for once people weren't annoyed but actually listening, even admiring him and making compliments.

Tommy could feel his inner wolf growl contentedly and silently agreed 'you're right, it's about time that more people notice how great and wonderful our mate is'.

He hoped that this amount of positive feedback would finally heal Merton's last mental scars caused by his callous and uncaring parents as well as by numerous bullies at school and bring an end to any still lingering insecurities.

Suddenly his sharp wolf ears picked up a whispered conversation between two teenage girls.

"…still so natural, not stuck-up like so many others. Do you know if he's still single?"

"According to his publisher's homepage, yes, but he has a little daughter. Apparently some chick left him and their kid."

"No way! What crazy bitch dumps such a cute guy?"

"Beats me, I certainly wouldn't push him outta my bed!"

The two dissolved into giggles and Tommy sighed, that was the downside of watching Merton with his fans, seeing how nearly all of the girls - and quite a few guys too - were hitting on him.

And while the Goth remained completely oblivious to their advances the werewolf had to fight really hard against the urge to march over and tell them all that this man was off the market, for good.

Hours later, after the last fans were gone, they could finally leave and head for their motel room.

Tommy had made sure to exit the store a few minutes before Merton and planned to sneak into their room when no one was looking, but right now they were walking side by side though without talking, to a casual observer they would have appeared like two strangers who just happen to have the same way, which was their intention.

The werewolf kept straining his ears and his eyes peeled, for annoying fans that might stalk the Goth but even more so for a possible attack from what- or whoever had send them that letter.

His senses were so focussed that he picked up on the presence of someone hiding near the back end of the alley they were passing by even before he saw the movement in the shadows behind a dumpster.

Tommy was about to grab Merton and pull him behind himself for safety when the figure emerged far enough to make out some details.

It was a young girl, obviously malnourished for she was beyond scrawny and had a sickly appearance; she stood crouched and huddled up against the dumpster as if she was expecting to be hit at any moment.

Everything about her was radiating fear and Tommy relaxed, this wasn't a threat but someone in desperate need of help.

"A-are you the guy who wrote that book about w-werewolves?"

Before they could answer her timid whisper a car came to a screeching halt beside her and a beefy man jumped out.

"What are you doing here? You know you're not supposed to leave the house! Just you wait, I'll teach you to…" the rest of his rant was drowned out by her shrieks as he grabbed the girl by her hair and dragged her into the car.

Tommy reached the back end of the alley the moment the car sped off, not quick enough to save her from that bastard but in time to catch a glimpse of her frantic eyes flashing yellow.

He gritted his teeth and cursed the fact that although it was already getting dark it was still too light for him to wolf out and chase after the car. Reluctantly Tommy turned his back to the road and returned to a worried looking Merton.

"Did you bring your laptop?"

"Yes, of course, why?"

"Because I need you to do some hacking…I memorized the license plate number."

They returned to their room and roughly two hours later they had the name and address of the male who'd abducted the girl, curtsey of the vehicle registration centre and their mediocre firewall.

Merton googled the man while Tommy was driving "That's interesting…according to these documents I found he and his wife adopted a little orphaned girl roughly ten years back – but when they moved here nearly three years ago she just…disappeared.

She's nowhere registered anymore; neither at a local nor at a boarding school. I can't even find medical records!"

Tommy parked in front of the house, noting how secluded it was and that it was completely dark by now. That was good, because he had a feeling that this could get ugly.

He threw one last look at the monitor of Merton's laptop, or rather at the year-book picture on it, and silently compared the picture of the smiling freshman he was seeing to the utterly scared girl they'd encountered in the alley today. 'What have they done to you?'

"Ok, lets get her out of there…I want you to stay behind me, just in case this guy looses it completely and tries something stupid – unlike you, I can easily survive a stab or a bullet wound."

Merton didn't oppose Tommy's stern command "I've called Shao, she's waiting beside the phone…that girl's name is Sakura, she's a born Japanese, I thought it might do her good to have someone to talk to in her native tongue."

"Good idea…you're ready? Here we go!"

Tommy instantly recognised the scowling man in his mid-forties that answered the door and didn't waste time with false pretences.

"Where is she?"

The man crossed his arms over his broad chest and stated mockingly "I've got no idea what you're talking about…why; you've got a nerve to disturb respectable citizens at this late hour! Get the hell off of my property you punk, before I call the police!"

Tommy snorted unimpressed and simply shoved that guy to the side.

The man went puce and started yelling more threats about calling the cops only to find himself pinned to the wall of his hallway.

"You want to call the cops? Fine, go ahead, but I doubt you'd like to explain to them what exactly is going on here." Tommy's eyes were glowing bright yellow now and his teeth were way sharper than normal as he asked again, this time with a growling voice "Where. Is. Sakura?"

It was amazing to see how one good growl from Tommy was all it took to make that man go from bully to spineless wuss. Within seconds he was a pale, shaking mess, squeaking "Upstairs."

"I'll go and get her; you stay here and keep an eye on him. If he so much as looks at you funny, yell." Merton nodded and Tommy whipped up the stairs.

The werewolf didn't have to search for her; he simply followed the sound of her piteous whimpers which became louder and more urgent as her subconscious sensed the proximity of a fellow werewolf.

Tommy had no problem to break down the reinforced door and entered the room Sakura was in, or rather the austere cell she'd been imprisoned in.

He took in the metal-grilled window, the small cot near the wall, a bucket stinking of urine in a corner…and the deep claw marks all over the walls as if she'd tried to literally go through them in her desperation.

And in the middle, lying curled up in a ball on the bare linoleum, the whimpering girl.

Her body was convulsing in pain, teeth shattering as if she was cold or running a high fever, but neither was the case.

Tommy was at a loss, she was clearly suffering but he didn't know why - until he tried to turn her on her back and noticed that her clothes were soaking wet, and that the liquid left an odd tingling sensation on his paws.

'Silver nitrate!'

He quickly ripped the clothes off of the incoherent girl, sniffed out the bathroom, and put her under the shower to wash off the toxic fluid.

Sakura was so weakened she couldn't even stand on her own anymore so Tommy had to hold her to keep her upright.

Now that he had the time to really look at the girl he noticed several large, ugly bruises that couldn't have been more than a few hours old and looked suspiciously like bootprints.

A closer inspection revealed that basically her whole body was covered in bruises of varying ages, and her back showed dozens of fresh, blood-crusted whip marks, probably from a thick leather belt. 'What a sick bastard!'

As the poison was washed away Sakura slowly became aware of her surrounding again.

Though she was still rather fuzzy-headed, the moment she saw Tommy her instincts kicked in, screaming that this was an alpha. She instinctively barred her neck in submission, afraid to anger the unknown werewolf, and whined beseechingly.

"Sh, don't worry, everything's gonna be alright, we're here to help you….remember that letter you wrote to Merton? He's a good friend of mine, and waiting for us downstairs."

Tommy turned off the shower and wrapped the nude girl into a large towel. "We'll take you with us, away from this hellhole. You have my word; no one will hurt you ever again."

Sakura blinked, unsure if she could trust this stranger, but then again, what did she had to loose? He seemed kind, offered safety and protection, and the thought to be among her kind again, maybe even to belong to a pack, was very tempting. She gave him a tentative smile.

"Is there anything you want to pack, clothes and the like?"

Sakura shook her head and whispered "They're all impregnated with silver, even the shoes….wait. There is one thing I got to take with me."

She tried to walk back towards her room but slumped against the wall after only two steps.

Tommy went and wrapped his arms around her shoulder so she could lean on him. That way they made it back to the room where she crouched down near a crack in the floor.

Reaching inside she lifted a piece of the floor board. Underneath, wrapped into an old shawl, was a dog-eared picture of a smiling Asiatic-looking couple and beaming girl in front of a cake with six candles.

"Your real parents?"

"Yeah…that was on my sixth birthday, only a few weeks before they…"

She swallowed hard, unable to continue, and shook out the shawl. A simple necklace fell to the ground, a seashell on a leather strap, with a polished inside to bring out its pearly sheen and two Kanji engraved in the middle. It was the same the woman was wearing on the picture.

Sakura put it around her own neck and stated "That was all."

"Then let's get out of here."

Tommy carried her down the stairs and out to the hearse. He laid her down in the backseat and handed her the blanket he usually used to hide under when he was wolfed out.

"Here, try to rest a bit, you need it. I´m back in a minute."

He went back inside to where the bastard was still cowering on the floor. Tommy wolfed out and grabbed his chin none too gently, forcing eye-contact, and growled "Not a word, to no one, and if you ever come looking for her I'll…."

He barred his teeth and the man grew even paler "God knows I'm tempted to give you a taste of your own medicine as it is after all you've done to her!"

The sharp stench of urine filled his nose which proved that the guy had lost his last bit of self-control. He shook his head in disgust "Let's go Mert."

They began the long drive home, though before they drove onto the highway Tommy entered a drive-through and purchased three large milkshakes and two buckets of fried chicken pieces.

He handed one to the surprised girl on the backseat "I thought you'd be hungry."

Sakura was near tears, it had been so long since someone genuinely cared about her, she'd all but forgotten how good it felt. She nodded and whispered "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

After she'd eaten her fill, Sakura soon dozed off, exhausted from the long, eventful day and the lingering effects of the silver.

Tommy called the others to give them the skinny on what had happened. "…she's got silver-poisoning, shows signs of all kind of physical abuse and is suffering from severe malnutrition. Seriously, that girl is a pile of bones; I couldn't only count her ribs but also her vertebras.

We'll be arriving in the early morning, make sure to have one of our guest room ready for her, and maybe Shao could loan her some clothes, she's the closest to Sakura in size…"

- + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

Between her injuries, utter exhaustion and feeling safe and protected in the care of an alpha wolf Sakura slept for a long time, she didn't even stir when they arrived back in Pleasantville around dawn and Tommy carried her upstairs.

She woke up hours later, finding herself lying in a warm, comfy bed, the picture of her parents sat in a frame on the nightstand and on a dresser near her lay a bundle of clothes roughly her size with a note on top.

'_God morning!_

_Bathroom is to the right, toiletries are on hand. Come down when you're ready, we're in the kitchen – just follow your nose. _

_Tommy + Merton_'

She followed the directions and was soon enjoying a hot shower before putting on the fresh clothes. While brushing her hair, Sakura looked outside of the window and saw two large dogs chasing each other playfully across a huge meadow and into the bordering forest.

She took in how remote the whole place was. 'It's just perfect for werewolves! And with how big the house is, a whole pack could be living here!'

Still a bit scared but also curious she finally stopped stalling and dared to go downstairs. The mouth-watering smells and clattering of pots and pans lead her straight to the kitchen. Sakura carefully peeked inside.

"No William, you're supposed to _eat_ those peas, not shove them up your nose!" chided an unknown Asiatic-looking woman a toddler who seemed indeed determined to inhale his greens.

The alpha wolf from last night and the author she'd written to were sitting at the same table and each feeding a kid sitting in a highchair.

"Seems as if he's not too fond of peas, hu?" chuckled Tommy, before adding calmly, without even looking her way "You don't have to hide behind the door, no one's going to bite your head off if you come in."

Being busted, Sakura timidly entered the room and was immediately hugged by a beaming Shao who was obviously happy to have someone from her homeland to talk to. Given her and Merton's happy chatter she couldn't help but feel welcome and relaxed slowly.

The others soon joined them for lunch and introduced themselves to Sakura as well. Shao had prepared ramen, a decidedly Japanese dish, on account of their guest but had changed the recipe a bit to suit the needs of werewolves; in other words, she'd added way more meat than usual.

"Dig in! There is plenty, and you need to put some meat on your bones…oh, before I forget it, I want Steven to take a look at your injuries, just in case. Don't worry, he's a good doc." The sandy-haired man gave her a smile which she returned, somehow feeling that she could trust him.

After stuffing herself with the delicious food Sakura followed Steven to the sickbay where he examined her. Thankfully he found nothing too alarming; he simply rubbed a soothing salve onto her still sore back and prescribed lots of rest, food and fresh air to regain her strength.

Then they joined the others in Tommy's and Merton's living room where they'd already cosied up to the fireplace. Sakura could all but feel the questions hanging in the air and started telling her story.

Much to everyone's surprise, she wasn't a bitten but a born werewolf. Her parents had been bitten during their honeymoon on Hawaii by what they believed to be a rabid dog, but the wounds healed quickly so they weren't truly worried – until they transformed for the first time.

It was sheer dumb luck that they turned out to be each others mate which balanced their fledgling inner wolves and kept them from turning feral like so many others, and after Sakura was born and they realised that they'd passed on their condition they did their best to teach her how to control her non-human side.

Everything was going well for the little family, but then her parents died in a car accident and Sakura ended up first in an orphanage and then with her adopted parents who saw her less as an daughter but more as an accessory to complete the picture of their perfect suburban idyll.

She managed to hide what she was for years, but when she hit puberty her inner wolf began to act up and she started wolfing out uncontrollably.

At this point, Steven briefly interrupted her and informed them that this was perfectly normal, a short phase, merely a sign that her body was getting ready to transform fully for the first time, and that under normal circumstances the mere presence of the parents or an alpha wolf, would have sufficed to lessen this behaviour to a minimum.

Sakura however, being without someone to curb her adolescent wolf, stood no chance and was of course discovered. From that day on her adopted parents hid her like a dirty secret, even went so far to move to another town to avoid the questions from worried neighbours and schoolmates.

They read up on her condition, though not to help her but merely to find ways to subdue her better, like washing her clothes in silver nitrate or feeding her a strictly vegetarian diet. This left Sakura so weakened that so far she had never been able to transform fully, which was according to a shocked Steven completely unheard of for someone her age.

The girl had almost lost hope, until she overheard her adopted parents curse about the waste of money their latest purchase had been, yet another book about werewolves, but instead of offering ways to get rid of or fight against 'those abominations' it portrayed a good werewolf.

Her parents scoffed at this ludicrous idea but Sakura got curious and secretly stole the book from the waste bin. Reading it she quickly came to the conclusion that the author hadn't just made everything up but knew what he was writing about, yet he wasn't condemning werewolves as monsters.

So she took a risk, wrote the letter and managed to smuggle it out hidden among the business correspondence of her adopted parents, and on the day she knew Merton would be in town she gathered her last strength to escape.

"Of course I'd tried to run away before, several times actually, but I had nowhere to go and the cops always brought me back to my oh-so-worried parents – who punished me as soon as the officers were gone." she shrugged helplessly.

Tommy put his arm around her shoulder and pulled the slip of a girl into a one-armed hug "Don't worry; you've got us now…ok, we'll have to think up something to get you new papers, but for now we can simply say that you're a cousin of Shao who's visiting us.

No one will question it."

Sakura cuddled up to his side gratefully and looked into the smiling faces around her, feeling already almost at home. For the first time in a long wile she truly believed that things were looking up for her and everything would turn out well.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

Tommy informed Callisto of their newest pack-member during their next chat.

To say the princess was appalled would have been an understatement, though she was less shocked about what had happened to the poor girl but more about the fact that there were obviously far more feral werewolves out there then they'd ever guessed.

With those nut jobs biting everyone they came across it was bordering on a miracle that their existence was still a secret!

She was most alarmed, and for once her royal aides were in complete agreement with her, apparently the news that there could be hordes of savage bitten wolves prowling around had rattled them to the core.

Though the ultra-conservatives seemed just as shocked to learn that it was possible for those bitten ones to find their mate among themselves and have offspring – heaven forbid that Lycantria might loose its monopoly position for born werewolves…or rather share it with even more packs aside from Tommy's.

They all were utterly relieved to learn that the Pleasantville-werewolves had resolved upon taking care of the problem.

The plan was simple enough: as Sakura's example had proven, they could count on Merton's book to lure out stray wolves, either to seek help from them - or to attack them if they were feral.

Also, people knowing of werewolves would try to glean useful facts of it, just like her adopted parents had, thus leading them to other, more reclusive werewolves.

The only problem was; how to separate the average fan mail from those letters that contained veiled cries for help, or questions of someone trying to get rid of a threat? With the amount of correspondence Merton was receiving they could impossibly read it all, and with his rising popularity the number would only increase.

They'd discussed the problem at length with all their friends, and it was Dean's wife Vera who had come up with a solution.

She would design a webpage for Merton which would automatically sift through all incoming emails for certain key-words, also a fan-quiz which only purpose was to sort out people who had an abnormally large knowledge of werewolves.

The lucky 'winners' would get to meet Merton personally – so that Tommy or another werewolf of their pack could secretly check them out.

"We can easily handle a couple of strays here and there, but should we really encounter a whole pack of savages we'll need your help."

Callisto nodded "Of course Tommy, just give the word and we'll be there…those feral bastards are a threat to _all_ peace-loving werewolves after all."

For the time being though, the pack had to face a completely different 'threat': nine months had passed and now the big day had come, Lori Baxter was in labour.

Rock and Tommy had made arrangements weeks ago for their moms to take the kids when the time was there so they wouldn't get scared by Lori's screams which turned out to be a far wiser precaution than anyone had anticipated - because Lori didn't simply scream, she cursed like a sailor, and her vocabulary grew more colourful the more the birth progressed.

By the time she was ready to start pushing she was cussing Steven at the top of her lungs for getting her into this situation, and promised him "If you so much as think about knocking me up once more I swear I'll cut off your tail and shove it up your ass!"

However, Steven was used to his mate's temper by now and remained completely unperturbed, doing his best to calm her down and guide her through the delivery.

The others who knew her didn't bat an eye either as Lori's threats echoed through the house, only Sakura flinched every time a particularly shrill scream or a very detailed description of a creative way to castrate a certain someone could be heard.

In those moments, her hand automatically went to her throat, both to touch her mom's necklace and to brush the spot where Tommy's fangs had pierced the skin and made her a part of his pack forever.

The later had happened on the full moon about a week after she had come to live with them and had worked wonders to soothe her nerves and lessened her nightmares significantly. She felt fully at home now, not least because Shao had basically adopted her as a younger sister.

A few hours later, after Lori had pretty much screamed herself hoarse, the faint cries of a newborn broke the silence which triggered a chorus of congratulating howls.

Minutes later an exhausted but happy looking Steven called them upstairs to great their youngest pack member. Lori looked ready to fall asleep at any moment but was beaming nonetheless as she cradled her daughter.

"What are you going to call her?"

"Jennifer Nereid, after our moms."

"Your mother's name was Nereid?"

Steven shrugged "Yeah, you can blame my grandma for this; she loved Greek mythology, especially the stories with water-fairies, so my mom ended up being called Nereid and her sister Nymph…thankfully I was given a normal name after my dad, but Nymph continued the tradition and named her daughter Callisto."

"So that's how you and Cal are related."

"Yeah, technically we're cousins, but we grew up like siblings. You see, there was a terrible accident a few weeks before I was due, a part of the cliff broke off just as my parents were taking a walk on it. He was crushed immediately whereas my mom survived the fall, though she must have known that she was fatally wounded and would follow her mate within minutes.

With her last strength she ripped her womb open with her claws and got me out so I wouldn't die with her. By the time help arrived, alarmed through the noise from the falling rocks, she was already dead and I was lying wrapped in her cloak beside her…Nymph had just given birth to Cal and had enough milk for two so she took me in, and with her being the queen none of the conservatives dared to argue. If not for her, I'd…"

A squeal of his little daughter tore Steven out of his unpleasant memories and Lori used the golden chance "How about you take our sunshine down to Merton's computer and show Cal her newest family member via web cam? I need to sleep for a while anyway…damn; giving birth really takes it out of a girl!"

That earned her a knowing chuckle from Shao and Tommy who ushered the others out to let Lori sleep. Steven followed his mate's suggest and introduced Callisto to her second goddaughter, the princess was instantly smitten and promised to visit as soon as she would be able to again, meaning after she gave birth herself and it would be safe for her to travel with her kid.

Rock and Merton went to fetch their kids from their grandma's and Tommy left Lori's mom a voicemail – she was currently out of town but had made them promise to call the moment something was happening.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + - -

Vera had done swift and good work and now Merton's webpage for his fans was online.

Though he was still receiving letters and parcels the amount had decreased drastically since most fans readily accepted the gothic-style webpage with cool extra-features like free downloadable icons drawn by Shao, discussion forums and of course the fan-quiz.

With this problem solved, Merton could finally start working on part two, much to his publisher's delight.

One day as he was busily typing, having finally straightened out the jumbled mess that were his notes and now writing the first key scenes, the phone rang. Without thinking he lifted the receiver, mumbling "Dingle here", his mind still focused on what he'd just written.

"Dingle here, too."

Merton froze at the familiar voice "Becky? What…why are you calling? I mean, it's great to hear from you, I´m just…uh…"

"Surprised, I know…listen Frea…uh, Merton, could we meet some time soon? We could go for a coffee somewhere, or…."

"How about you come over for a coffee at my place? That way we can talk undisturbed, and you could meet your niece."

"You have a daughter? When did that happen? Who is the mother? I…" A beeping in the line interrupted her. "Damn, my coins are all gone already…ok, when can I come over?"

"Tomorrow around three?"

"Deal. See you!"

With a frown, Merton returned the receiver to its cradle. Yes, he was glad to hear from his sister, but why now? And why had she called him from a phone booth? He couldn't help the suspicion that something might be going on.

Meanwhile in Pleasantville, Becky left the telephone booth sporting a frown as well. She felt a bit ridiculous using a pay phone only two blocks from her home but at the same time felt that it was necessary. The behaviour of her parents lately was just too weird.

In about three weeks she'd turn 18 and gain access to her inheritance, but for Becky that wasn't such a big deal - ok it was a lot of money but it wasn't like she could just blow it, granny Aurora had made sure of this.

She could only use it for either an education or invest it in a business…which was apparently exactly what her parents had in mind for her.

They'd been dropping not-so-subtle hints for weeks, and a few days ago Becky had stumbled over a draft contract on her father's desk, according to which she would basically sign over the complete control of her inheritance to her parents.

On it was a post-it with an appointment at a notary for the day after her birthday.

The whole situation crept her out and gave her nightmares, literally. But maybe that was a good thing, for last night's dream had brought back a long forgotten memory: an argument between Merton and their parents, shortly after grannies death.

She'd been too young back then to understand what was going on and couldn't remember the exact words that were spoken – or rather yelled - but she did know one thing for sure: they had wanted Merton to sign something too.

Becky had thought long and hard about how her parents were obviously busy making plans behind her back without once bothering to ask her what _she _wanted, remembering a thousand occasions where their parents had been callous or even downright cruel to their eldest which culminated in that frightening outburst when Merton had moved out, and came to the conclusion that it was high time to hear her brother's version of why he became the black sheep of the family.

Even if that meant to go behind their parents back and meet him in secret.

Just so you know, Sakura won't play a too big role in the future, I merely gave her a more detailed background than other werewolves in need they'll encounter in the future because I plan to use her for an important scene in the future which will probably come in the chapter after the next…but I won't spoil the surprise just yet!

For now though I'd like to know what you think of Becky's return – are you rather annoyed to see her again, or relieved that her and Merton get a chance to mend their brother/sister relationship? In other words: review please!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue.

Sigh…I know, it's been ages, and you have every right to be angry and start throwing pointy objects – my only excuse is that I suddenly found myself faced with a law suit, and the shock killed every ounce of creativity in me….fortunately only temporary.

Anyway, thanks for all your nice reviews, those helped a lot, and now I´m back on track.

19. Chapter

Merton was beyond nervous, fidgeting and biting his nails while looking out of the window every five seconds, and it was driving Tommy nuts.

"Relax, Mert, it's only two minutes past three…remember, Becky was the one who called and wanted to meet you so I´m sure she'll come…heck, she probably only has a little problem finding the path leading to our house."

"Yeah you're right, it's just a non-tarred forest path after all…oh god, what if she had an accident and crashed against a tree? You know how many potholes…"

Tommy sighed, grabbed his mate by the shoulders and turned him around to face the window, outside of which Becky was just parking her motor scooter.

"See, she's fine…and now take a deep breath and calm down or you'll faint before she even rings the door."

A few minutes later the siblings were sitting in Tommy's and Merton's living room having coffee and some cookies. Becky fidgeted almost as much as Merton and was obviously searching for a way to start the conversation, until her wandering gaze met the toddlers napping on a blanket in front of the fireplace.

"I would ask which one is yours but I guess one would have to be blind not to see the family resemblance…so what is her name? And who is her mom?"

Merton had expected her question and made sure to broach the topic of the 'mother' very briefly only to launch himself enthusiastically into stories about the kids. Thankfully Becky didn't seem to notice and was soon laughing alongside her brother about the little ones´ antics.

"So you're basically spending your days babysitting your daughter, Tommy's son and the kid of that other couple?"

"The mornings anyway, Shao and I are taking turns in the afternoon and Tommy helps too when he's not training the badgers – I need time to write my next book after all….but don't you want to finally tell me why you called so suddenly, and from a pay phone to boot? Not that I´m not happy that you've called, I´m just a bit worried."

Becky sighed "It's complicated…actually, I´m not even sure that there's a problem at all, just….Mom and Dad have been acting really weird lately. They're making a big fuss about my upcoming birthday, how I´m becoming an adult and need to be responsible and make investments into my future…and then I found this draft contract and note about a date at a notary…"

Merton's blood ran cold, of course, Becky was turning 18 next month and now their money-grubbing parents were trying to get her inheritance into their greedy clutches. And he knew from personal experience that they would stop at nothing to reach their goal. If Becky didn't sign over her money freely there was no telling what they'd do.

Merton frowned, he didn't want to see his kid sister in danger, yet he didn't want her to loose her money either. But how could he warn her without angering her and chasing her away? She still believed their parents only meant her best after all….then again she did come to him, so she'd got to be at least a bit suspicious.

"Well…looks as if Mom and Dad want you to enter into the family business, or at least invest into it. But what are _your_ plans?"

Becky started to smile "I haven't told Mom and Dad yet, but me and Heidi want to go to an art school, there's a really good one in California, her aunt lives near there and secretly got the admitting forms for us a couple of months ago. Last week came the reply and we're both admitted, we'll be staying in the dorm there and be room mates and everything is going to be just great!"

She sighed "However it's a rather expensive school…of course, with grannies money it won't be a problem, heck if I´m careful I'll still have enough left for the down payment of a condo after I graduate. But if I invest it into our car dealership…then again, I guess I could invest it and simply ask Mom and Dad to pay me out enough each year to pay my tuition fees. What do you think Frea…uh, Merton?"

Merton smiled at the almost-use of his old nickname, oh how he had missed his little sister!

"First of all, congratulations to being admitted at such a prestigious school, I always loved your drawings and I´m sure you'll make a great artist one day. Now, about your money…" He hesitated; this was the tricky part "I strongly suggest that you consult an accountant officer before you invest it in Mom and Dad's business. You know, have him check the books to make sure that the dealership is thriving, and that there'll be no financial straits when it comes to your tuition fees."

Becky frowned "But their business is thriving, you know that they're selling lots of cars!" Her eyes narrowed, she knew her brother well enough to know that he was hiding something.

"What is it that you're not telling me?" before he could answer another though hit her and she added "and what was that paper that Mom and Dad wanted you to sign back then after grannies death?"

Merton looked stunned; he hadn't thought that Becky could still remember that particular incident. "They wanted me to sign over the collection...they'd already started looking for buyers when Aurora was still alive, she got to know of this and changed her will so that I inherited the books.

You know how she always thought that they should be free to be seen and studied by everyone, and I agree with her, but mom and dad wanted to sell them – because they were verging on bankruptcy."

Becky drew in a sharp breath "Bankruptcy? But…I always thought they were making a healthy profit!"

"Well yes, but…" Merton threw his sister a gauging look and decided that it was time for her to learn the whole truth.

"You know way better than me what a pair of designer shoes cost, or a handbag made from crocodile leather, and now think about how many Mom owns, how she only wears is the latest fashion, and solely pieces from luxury brands, Prada, Gucci, Dior and whatnot.

Dad isn't much different with his tailor-made suits, Armani shoes and Rolexes…he drives an imported sports car, a new one each year, and is member in the most exclusive golf club around.

Also, keep in mind how often they go on vacation – if it's not a luxury Caribbean cruise it's diving on the Maldives, then the regular wellness-weekends in first-class hotels, and of course Christmas-shopping in New York….the dealership _does_ earn a good profit, but nowhere near enough to finance _that_ kind of lifestyle."

Becky's head was spinning; she could barely hear the Goth's words anymore. How could she have been so blind? Their mom had turned Merton's old room into a walk-in closet solely for her shoes and handbags for crying out loud, how could she ever believe a single small-town dealership would make enough money to pay for hundreds of designer shoes?

Her brother was right, she _did_ know what a pair of those cost, and how many pair their mom owned, now she did the math in her head and realised that those _alone_ must have cost about 200 grand.

And dad's golf club - ok, she didn't know how much the membership cost but she _did_ know that the mayor had to quit back when Tommy had started with college because he just couldn't afford to pay for both, even though _his_ wife was working full-time as well.

"So what you're trying to tell me is not to give my money to Mom and Dad because they would only blow it and then I would have nothing left to go to college…" Becky murmured, still struggling to make sense of it all.

"Basically, yes, and Becky…be careful. Once they realize that they won't get your money, well…they won't like it."

Becky's eyes widened as everything finally made sense, if in a frightening way. Her parents had treated Merton like dirt for years because he refused to give them more money to go shopping?

And now they were after hers…all the increased attention of the last few weeks, the friendly words and compliments, was all that was just a sham? Motto: butter her up so she'll do what we want and signs everything without questioning it?

Becky could hardly believe it, didn't want to, but felt sick to her stomach anyway. For deep inside she knew that it was true.

Merton saw her grow pale and drew her into his arms "Don't worry, I´m sure everything's gonna be alright…and if push comes to shove, I'll always have a room for you."

Becky laughed "Oh come on, Merton, it's not like they gonna throw me out over this!" But she snuggled into his embrace anyway, grateful to have her brother back. Truth to be told, she had missed the crazy guy a lot.

Merton didn't argue with her, enjoying the renewed closeness between them too much, but made a mental note to prepare a guest room for Becky for the day after her birthday respectively the day of the appointment with the notary. Knowing their parents as he did he was sure she would need it.

- - + - + - + - **T****&****M** - + - + - + -

Sam and Mary arrived a few days later with their two kids; they'd be staying for a couple of weeks to help with the start of their 'private nature reserve'-project to secure their territory. Merton and the others had already bought several pieces of land over the last months, under false names of course, now it was time to make it official.

Several reportages from Sally Dawkins spread the news of the budding nature reserve, along with a big praise to Pleasantville's town council for donating land to 'the good cause', which had the desired effect: Muhlenburg of course _had_ to donate land as well.

And since Sally didn't forget to mention that donations to a public charity are tax-deductible many clever farmers used the golden opportunity to benefit from their unused and otherwise worthless pieces of uncultivated land lying somewhere in the dense forest and donated them.

Besides, as Sam had explained in an interview, preserving the forest as it was now, so that the wolves in it would find enough prey, was the best way to prevent them from leaving the woods and go after their sheep.

That there were indeed wolves in their forest was doubted by no one, they heard them howl often enough after all.

While Sam promoted their project, giving lectures at the high school about how useful wolves were for the ecosystem and soothing the worries of the people living closest to the forest edge, Mary helped in a completely different way. She took over babysitting all their kids which allowed Merton to focus fully on writing his book and gave Shao the time to start working on the first illustrations.

The Goth's publisher had asked them to get the new book ready in time to be released on Halloween again and both were trying their best to meet that deadline, though not only for the publisher's sake but also because buying all that land for the preserve had left them pretty much broke.

Mary didn't mind watching the whole brood at all; she loved children and saw it as training for the future because she and Sam were definitely planning to have several more.

She readily nursed Lori's daughter Jenny along with her own youngest son, who was just a few weeks older than the little girl, whenever the blonde, who was already working again, didn't made it home in time to feed her.

And her older son Ayden positively _loved_ to have three new friends and two big, fluffy dogs to play with.

- - + - + - + - **T****&****M** - + - + - + -

As Merton had predicted, in the afternoon of the day after her birthday a crying Becky was standing at his doorstep.

The moment he opened the door the sobbing girl all but collapsed into his arms. He soothed her the best he could and lead her to the couch in his living room.

"Why Merton? Why did they…don't they love me at all?"

The beseeching look in his little sister's tear-filled eyes broke his heart – while the ugly bruise on her cheek made his blood boil. He tightened his embrace and petted her hair "Sh, it's ok, I´m here…how about you start at the beginning?"

"These last couple of weeks they've gotten worse by the day, badgering me with talks about the family business day and night and how the bad economy was killing them. Then this morning, they all but dragged me to the notary where they demanded that I sign that contract they'd prepared.

However the notary insisted that he had to read it to me first, said it wouldn't be legal otherwise…the wanted everything, Mert! All the money, with no security for me whatsoever!

When I asked the notary if he could at least add a clause that they would have to pay my tuition fees in exchange they got furious, yelling how they'd fed and clothed me for years and now it was time for me to pay them back.

I asked them how I should go to college without grannies money and if they didn't care about my future at all but Mom only called me a selfish little beast and Dad roared how it was time for me to learn obedience and then he…he…"

A fresh wave of tears soaked Merton's shirt as she buried her head in his shoulder but he could imagine what their father had done anyway. That man had an incredibly violent temper, though he usually kept himself in check in when in public. Nevertheless… 'I should have never let her go to that appointment alone!'

Becky hiccupped "At that point, the notary called the security guards to have them removed. He was thoroughly appalled at their behaviour and apologized to me, saying that he had no idea what they'd been up to, all he'd been told was that this was about a gift between relatives. I waited a few more minutes to make sure they were gone, and came here. I didn't know where else…I mean, I _can__'__t_ go home to _them_…"

Merton saw the rising panic in her eyes and hurried to say "You did the right thing coming here. I've got a room ready for you, and tomorrow, we'll wait till they're out and fetch your stuff. There's no way I´m letting you go back to those psychos – I don't want to see you end up in the emergency room after all."

Becky was glad to hear that she had a place to stay, though his words send a shiver down her spine nonetheless. With how casual he spoke of the possibility that their Dad would beat her to a pulp if he saw her again and how completely unsurprised he'd been to see her bruised face, she couldn't help but wonder how much her brother had hidden from her these past years to shield her from the horrible truth about their parents.

Right after dinner, Merton put his emotionally drained kid sister to bed. She fell asleep rather quickly, thanks to a mild sedative from Steven, and woke up early, feeling a lot better already and determined to make the best of the situation. So what if her parents were monsters, she still had a brother who would always be there for her!

Her good mood lasted until they sneaked back into her old home and she caught sight of her room…or rather what was left of it.

The entire room was lying in ruins, furniture not only knocked over but smashed, and the torn remnants of her clothes littered the floor. It looked as if some homicidal maniac had run amok with an axe - which seemed to be not too far away from the truth if the handle sticking out from the mess that used to be her mattress was anything to go by.

Becky blinked and mechanically started to sort through the wreckage in hopes to find something that had escaped the assault, desperately trying not to think about the fact that it was her own father who had done this, or how far he might have gone if she'd been here when he'd lost it.

She kept on fighting against the tears that threatened to fall, but then she'd found the remnants of her beautiful prom dress which was cut to pieces so methodically that it made her sick. Worse though, it made her realise that her mother hadn't just stand idly by but actively helped in destroying everything she loved.

The mental picture of her Mom grinning with insane glee as she slashed through her clothes was the last thing she knew before everything went black.

She regained consciousness on Merton's couch, with her worried brother hovering above her.

"I'd never thought they would go that far…"

He sighed, knowing only too well how she felt. "I know…we brought back everything that was still whole or can be repaired, but I fear it isn't much. Your diary survived though – looks as if Mom still had no clue where you were hiding it."

His smile was thin and more than a bit strained but she returned it nonetheless. "Yeah, and I was never happier about being so forgetful, I still have a bunch of clothes, CD's and most important my laptop over at Heidi's place."

Becky spend the next days playing with the twins, who loved their 'Aunny Bebe', telephoning with Heidi and shopping with Lori and Shao to replace at least some of her destroyed wardrobe before leaving for school.

Which would be rather soon, because her and Heidi had decided to spend the rest of the time until their classes would start at Heidi's aunt's place near the university to get to know their new surroundings.

And while he was happy to be so close to his sister again, he couldn't help being relieved to see her go for they wouldn't have been able to hide the truth about the pack any longer.

It wasn't that Merton didn't trust Becky, but he knew very well how thoughtless she could be, and one careless comment at the wrong time would be enough to doom them all.

They simply couldn't risk it.

He had however let her in on the secret of his and Tommy's relationship which led first to a lot of speechless gaping, then a bunch of _really_ embarrassing questions and comments and finally to Becky congratulating him on catching the 'biggest hottie in town'.

About a week after she'd been standing crying in front of his door, Merton and Tommy brought Becky to the train station. There were lots of hugs and promises to call and write each other, and then Becky was gone.

The werewolf put an arm around his slightly teary-eyed mate's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry Mert, she'll be fine…she's a smart girl, got her best friend with her, and if something happens she knows she can always call us."

"Yeah, I know you're right, it's just…I only just got her back…"

Merton remained slightly glum for days, until Becky called for the first time, brimming over with joy and babbling about how great everything was.

She and Heidi had already made a few new friends, including an 'all-out hunk', and Heidi's aunt had apparently all but adopted her and was spoiling both girls rotten. A happy Merton wished her all the best, both for school and her new crush; finally convinced that his kid sister would do alright.

- - + - + - + - **T****&****M** - + - + - + -

Spring became summer, and once the school vacation started Tommy took over caring for the kids. He loved the chance to spend more time with their twins and didn't mind watching William and Jenny as well which was a good thing because all the others had to work.

Summer was one of the busiest times at the nursery; both Rock and his mom were working full-time with Shao helping out whenever she could while she was also struggling to finish her illustrations for Merton's book.

The Goth himself spend most of his days typing, more often than not late into the night or even till the early morning hours, completely immersed in his story. If not for Tommy putting sandwiches beside his laptop he'd have probably forgotten to eat at all and lived on nothing but coffee.

Three weeks before the beginning of the new school year Merton was finally done and sent his new manuscript to his publisher. Then he slept near a whole day through as the exhaustion and the stress of the past few months caught up with him.

He knew that he and Shao would have to fly over to Frisco at least once to talk about details before the release, but for now all he wanted was to relax and enjoy the rest of the summer with his mate and their kids.

A few days later the couple and Tommy's mom were having coffee on their terrace while watching the kids play on a nearby blanket, a meanwhile frequent occurrence.

Sally loved her grandkids and was using her current spare time due to the silly season to spend more time with her son and his little family.

She was just telling them how Lori would soon be promoted and become her personal assistant when a pained yelp brought an end to their conversation. Tommy was up and at the kids´ side in a flash.

"Daddy, hurt!" whined Aurora, holding her bloody knee where a sharp stone had pierced the skin when she'd been knocked over by her brother during playing catch.

Sally watched in disbelief how Tommy, instead of fetching the first-aid kit or at least a band-aid, bent down and gently licked the wound.

Her bewilderment must have been obvious for Merton explained "Werewolf-saliva has strong healing qualities, which is also the reason why I didn't retain scars from Ariel's assault. You'll see; there'll be nothing left of that gash."

And so it was, Sally could see it for herself when the kids joined them at the table for cookies and some juice, there wasn't even the slightest scrape left on Aurora's knee.

She shook her head, amazed for the umpteenth time just how different the life of her son was compared to what was considered 'normal' and wondered if she would ever get used to it.

Later that evening, after Sally was gone Merton and Tommy were tucking their drowsy twins in. The two had been sleeping through for several months now so they had finally dared to move them out of their bedroom and into their own upstairs, though not into separate rooms because Aurora and Taddie still insisted on sleeping together.

Thus they had one shared bedroom and used the other as a playroom where all four kids played whenever the weather was too bad to go outside.

They didn't need a baby phone seeing as Tommy's sharp werewolf ears would pick up any sign of distress immediately, but that didn't stop both parents from checking up on their little angels several times per night.

More often then not they would find themselves standing in front of their children's bed for minutes before retiring themselves, just to watch them sleep. Neither Merton nor Tommy could get enough of the sight of their beloved children sleeping curled together or around their favourite stuffed animal – a large, wolf-like dog which looked a lot like Tommy in his wolf-form – mumbling in their sleep or sucking on their thumb.

This evening was no different; they ended up standing there for several minutes to watch how their children fell asleep with Tommy embracing Merton from behind. The way his mate leaned back into his arms gave him ideas and soon he was trailing little kisses along his neck which the Goth enjoyed very much if the way he was arching his head to the side to grant him better access was anything to go by.

The werewolf licked a straight line from shoulder to ear, gently bit into the lobe and whispered "How about we take this downstairs and take advantage of the fact that our room is finally ours alone again?"

Merton moaned his agreement, silently grateful that their kids had their own room now so they wouldn't have to bother one of their friends to take them for the night anymore whenever they wanted to have some quality time.

They stumbled down the circular stairs kissing, shirts already gone, the moment they reached the bottom Merton found himself pinned to the nearest wall with Tommy kissing him senseless while grinding against him.

When oxygen became an issue Merton reluctantly broke their deep kiss and panted "Bed!"

The werewolf growled slightly, just as unwilling to stop, but seeing his mate's reason. Only with great difficulty did they manage to part long enough to pull off their jeans and make the last few metres to their bed.

They lay down kissing deeply, facing one another in a sideway position and entwining their bodies as close as possible. Merton had wrapped his topping leg around Tommy's hip, both to create even more friction between their erections as well as to give his lover's slick fingers the best possible access to his entrance.

He whimpered when those talented fingers brushed his prostate, thoroughly fed up with foreplay "Need you, now!"

Tommy groaned at the heated demand but protested half-heartedly "It's too soon, you've only got two fingers…"

This caused the Goth to produce a sound that sounded a lot like Tommy's most frustrated growl. Stating "I'll worry about my sore ass in the morning!" he rolled on top of his mate, straddling him, and impaled himself before the werewolf could come up with another token protest.

Tommy all but howled at the sudden sensation of tight heat wrapped around his most sensitive part, and when Merton began to ride him slowly he was completely overwhelmed, unable to do more than roll his hips to meet each thrust.

The love shining in the blue eyes of his mate left him speechless and in awe, surging upwards he captured his beloved's mouth in a gentle kiss. Despite being inflamed with passion both were trying to keep their rhythm moderate to make the moment last, though of course this could work only so long.

The battle was lost when Tommy bend his knees, put his feet on the mattress and raised his hips several inches. Merton keened as he was suddenly impaled impossibly deeper, a sound which drove the werewolf wild. All thoughts of drawing the pleasure out forgotten their coupling turned into a sensual frenzy; it was sweaty, untamed and simply orgiastic.

Once the fireworks behind his eyelids started to fade Merton collapsed on top of Tommy, gasping for breath and completely exhausted. All he wanted was to fall asleep in his mate's arms, but the way said mate suddenly cocked his head and perked his ears dashed those hopes.

"Looks like we woke someone up."

Merton suppressed a groan, he loved his kids dearly, but he was dog-tired and feeling boneless from the aftershocks of pleasure still running through him.

"Don't worry, I'll look after them...you stay put." Tommy chuckled at the look of utter gratitude his beloved gave him "Yeah, I know, I love you too."

He quickly dashed up the stairs and into their kid's room.

"Daddy, I´m thirsty" mumbled Aurora drowsily, clutching her stuffed animal, while her yawning brother rubbed his sleepy eyes with a small fist.

Tommy smiled, 'God, they're so adorable' and gave them some chamomile tea. After a few sips Aurora started to yawn as well whereas Taddie was already halfway asleep again.

He tucked them in and stayed for a moment to watch them curl around each other before going down to where his mate was waiting for him.

Mert blinked sleepily as he slid next to him under the covers and curled around him in a near perfect mirror image of their children before falling asleep with a contend sigh. Tommy gave him one last kiss on the forehead and drifted of into dreamland as well.

- + - + - + - **T****&****M** - + - + - + - -

Well, now that things with Becky are all right again you could think there will be nothing but love peace and harmony for everybody…but you would be wrong! Trouble from various directions, some expected, and some not, is heading the pack's way.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I own my OC´s, but not the show. Big surprise here…

Note: For those of you looking forward to the promised trouble surrounding Sakura, you'll have to wait a little longer, there's only the barest hint of the start in this chapter - because recent happenings at the school of my cousin inspired me to a scene that just _demanded_ to get written…it's the part were we get to see a bit of teacher/coach Tommy at school.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

20. Chapter

Merton yawned as he stepped out of the shower and put on his pyjama, looking unhappily at his surroundings.

Granted, the hotel room his publisher had booked for him was nice and comfortable, but he'd rather been sleeping in a flophouse if it meant he could have Tommy by his side.

But his mate had to work so he was all alone….well, not completely, Shao had the room next to him and both Sparky and Silver were dozing in a corner of his room.

That the Asian was accompanying him had been his publisher's idea, since more and more fans were getting interested in the artist behind the illustrations in his books they wanted her to be present at his signing sessions too, also Merton had the feeling they had plans with her that went beyond translating.

Only yesterday Hank had pretty much asked her if she would be interested in doing illustrations for other authors as well or maybe even become co-artist for one of their comic book series.

That the two hellhounds were with them and sleeping in Merton's room was on Tommy's insistence, not that he was blaming his mate, the alpha had every reason to be worried.

_Flashback_

The hidden filters in Vera's web page had worked like a charm and got them several suspects which they'd been checking out the past months, thankfully most turned out to be harmless geeks and fantasy fans, but not all.

They had found three werewolves, all of whom were desperate for help and more or less living on the streets, be it because they were afraid to hurt their families - or because said families had kicked them out when they discovered their child was a 'freak'.

All three were male teenagers, tall and broad-shouldered, looking like born football players.

The real cause for concern though was that all had given them an eerily similar description of their attacker, and that said attacker had promised to 'come back and collect them in about two years when they were ready'.

The boys themselves didn't know the meaning of this, but for Tommy the situation was clear: whoever had bitten them wanted to 'collect' them before they would transform for the first time.

Both he and Callisto were most alarmed that someone was purposely biting young, strong males to build a pack, wondering about how many he had already collected and what he wanted to do with his pack once he had assembled it.

That it was a feral was out of question, no one with a scrap of decency would leave a newly-bitten pack brother to fend for himself, not to mention that this behaviour bore the risk of discovery for all werewolves. This madcap needed to be stopped ASAP.

Alas, they had no hot scent, so far all they could do was to find his victims and help them.

Two out of the three got the cure and returned to their families, grateful for the help and promising to keep their mouth shut.

The third, the one who had been kicked out by his family, had asked to become a part of their pack and had received his submission mark; he was now staying with Sam, Luke and their mates. Mary had pretty much adopted the poor boy and was now home-schooling him.

From what they could see during their regular webcam-chats he was feeling right at home with the four and their kids but was also already looking forward to see Tommy and the others again when he, Sam, Luke, Mary and Chris would visit them over Christmas.

All in all he was clearly happy to be a part of their pack and slowly getting over the shock of his violent turning.

_End of Flashback_

Merton sighed as he slipped under the covers; he was really tuckered out after yet another day of signing sessions and interviews.

Of course he was happy that his second book turned out to be just as successful as its predecessor, if not more, but this also meant he had a busy schedule not only until Christmas but also well into the next year already even though it was only just November.

But this time he'd put his foot down and demanded breaks, unwilling to be parted from his family for months on end ever again. His publisher had grumbled a bit but complied, so now every second weekend and the days between Christmas and New Years remained free of appointments.

Thankfully his fans understood his reasons and many of their parents sympathized with him as well, praising the fact that their rebellious teenaged kids finally had a good, responsible role model. Or, as a grateful mother had written "thanks to you I could convince my son that being a cool Goth and going to college isn't mutually exclusive."

The later was most likely the result of one particular interview that still made Merton chuckle.

A haughty doctor of literature had wanted to drop him in it, trying to prove that Merton was 'just some uneducated stripling who wouldn't know real literature if it bit him in the arse'.

Merton usually wasn't one to get angered easily - more the opposite - but having overheard earlier that the presumptuous bastard was getting paid by a rivalling publisher to run him and his books down he pulled out all the stops, made use of his keen wit and happily pointed out whenever the oh so great doctor misquoted while he was throwing around quotations.

Thus the joke ended up being on the corrupt idiot, seeing that he had completely neglected to do his research and was knocked for six when the 'stripling' turned out to have a degree in literature as well and spoke fluent Latin to boot.

Realising how he'd made a proper Charlie of himself the arrogant man stormed out of the radio studio where they'd been having the discussion, and a slightly embarrassed Merton explained to the baffled host why he'd been so harsh to the guy.

The Goth thought nothing of it, but after the show was over he was greeted by Hank who had tears of joy in his eyes. Apparently his little stunt had been broadcasted live to the entire coast…and caused quite an echo. In other words, it earned them publicity galore.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

In the early morning hours many weeks later, a dog tired Merton excited a taxi and trudged through the snow to the side-entry of their mansion, eager to get out of the icy wind and into his mate's arms.

It had been a long and exhausting day, but given the choice between one more night at a hotel or getting home a bit earlier he couldn't resist and took the night train.

He was still struggling to get his key into the hole because his fingers where trembling from the cold when the door suddenly opened and he was yanked in. Merton yelped a bit in surprise but didn't struggle, instantly recognising the strong arms around him as well as the tousled bed head in front of him as the werewolf took a deep sniff of his neck.

"You should have called; I would have come and picked you up."

"I didn't want to wake you, it's too damn early to be awake…" while he was saying this his beloved had already begun to strip him of his cold and slightly wet clothing.

"You're right, it's way too early, so off to bed!" Under the covers and in Tommy's arms he was warm and asleep in no time.

Several hours later, after a hearty breakfast and some playing with their kids the couple found the time to catch up on everything that had happened since they'd last seen each other.

Tommy noticed instantly how Merton tensed up when he asked him about his appointments for the next year. "Ok, what's wrong?"

Merton sighed "Nothing, really, it's just…my publisher had this 'great' idea for Valentine's Day, since I've got so many female fans and am officially single…" he grimaced "They're going to raffle a date with me."

Seeing Tommy's frown he hurried to add "It won't be too bad, just coffee together, maybe an hour, two at most, and with a photographer and a reporter lurking in the background the whole time."

Tommy sighed, not liking the idea one bit, but there was little they could do, they _had_ to keep up pretences. Maybe Merton as a writer could have pulled it off, he had been the town's eccentric for years anyway, but no way in hell would a gay teacher be accepted, especially one who was also the coach and had thus free access to the boy's locker room.

Just the other day he'd gotten a good idea of just how deep homophobia and prejudices were still running in their hometown.

Two seniors, both members of the football team, had shown incredible courage and came out to their families and friends, and knowing that the gossip would spread like wildfire they'd informed Tommy as well.

He could still see them before his mind's eye, ashen faces, nervously clutching each others hands and obviously expecting to be kicked out of the team, only to go bug-eyed with shock when he'd given them the spare key to the teacher's locker room instead, stating "Here, it's probably for the best if you change and shower separately from the others from now on."

The two had looked torn between joy and disbelief, especially after Tommy quietly congratulated them to finding one another, ending with "And if you ever need a sympathetic ear, you know where to find me."

The very next day he had given his team a stern talk, reminding them that while 'being queer' wasn't a reason to get kicked out of the team, harassing a team member certainly was. The boys had merely shrugged, most already having suspected that those two were more than just friends anyway and couldn't care less, though some had seemed to be a tad relieved that they now didn't had to shower with them anymore.

This should have been the end of the story, but sadly it wasn't. While most of the pupils had reacted unsurprised and didn't make a fuss, quite a few parents downright freaked.

They honestly had to have an emergency parent-teacher conference about the matter, and on that one evening Tommy had heard enough stupid prejudices to last him a lifetime.

The worst of the bunch had gone so far as to demand to kick the two out of the school completely, stating that they would turn the other kids queer and give them all kind of 'faggoty diseases' such as AIDS. Heck, one ultra-catholic couple had even feared for the salvation of their child's soul should it be forced to attend classes with such 'horrible sinners'.

It had taken hours of talking to make those people see at least a shred of reason, but between the bio-teacher explaining that just using the same toilets couldn't give you STD's, the priest assuring the two of his flock that their daughter's soul wasn't endangered and someone from the school board giving a lecture about the laws against discrimination, people had finally begun to calm down.

When he'd got the feeling that they were at last willing to listen again Tommy explained what measures he'd taken to make sure that 'those freaks won't try to paw our sons under the showers' and pointed out that the whole 'problem' would solve itself in a few months anyway when those two would graduate.

In the end the 'worried' parents had grudgingly agreed to simply wait the matter out.

Even though the evening could count as a victory seeing as the young couple could continue going to school, the whole affair had left a very bad taste in Tommy's mouth.

He was appalled by how quick the citizens of their usually so peaceful little hometown had been to ostracize someone for being different, and he hadn't missed how much hate had been directed towards the couple's parents for raising their kids the 'wrong way' either.

He didn't dare to imagine what would happen if they ever found out about him and Merton – not only his own career, but also those of his family, heck all of their existences here in Pleasantville would be over. So they had to keep on lying, no matter how much they hated it.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

Much to everyone's relief, Merton's 'date' turned out to be a 12-year old girl. They had milkshakes together and talked about Pokemon, the photographer made a few pictures and that was it.

Though spring brought other problems with it, one expected and one that took them completely by surprise.

Number one was a now fully grown-up Silver giving birth to four lovely puppies, two boys and two girls, making Sparky the happiest dog on earth.

The girls had inherited their mom's lighter fur, one was completely white which earned her the name Snow whereas the other was a light grey, she was named Cloud.

The boys were darker, resembling their dad, a dark grey one was dubbed Ash and the one who was nearly as pitch black as his father got the name Coal.

However since the little ones had inherited their parents' hellish powers and weren't housetrained yet they were leaving scorch marks all over the place. Thus they had no choice but to relocate the little family into a nice, cosy, and most important fireproof, doghouse out in the garden lest they set the house on fire.

Of course just for the time being, until the pups had learned to pee on the thick bed of gravel in front of the house and not to gnaw on everything.

Later on, two of them would go to Sam and Mary, both because six fully grown hellhounds would be too much for them to keep and as an added safeguard for their satellite pack. They still hadn't caught the madcap that had bitten those teenage boys after all.

It was problem number two though that would finally bring them a hot scent on the bastard.

Things started completely harmless, with Vera calling them about how her assistant Mark was acting 'kinda weird'.

Said guy had been working for her for a few years now, starting in his senior year, and because he was really good with computers they'd made a deal: Vera paid half of his college fees and in return he'd promised to work for her once he'd graduated instead of going into the big cities searching for a more lucrative job.

They'd always been getting along well, more like friends working together then boss and employer, but ever since he'd returned from spring break vacation a couple of weeks ago he'd been extremely standoffish.

"Call me paranoid or blame it on the fact that my brother-in-law is a werewolf, but when I noticed how anxious he was about getting home before dark yesterday and looked like death warmed over this morning I got suspicious seeing as it was full moon, so today I asked him to work with those new, silver-plated motherboards we got…and he refused adamantly, saying he'd never ever touch those things."

Tommy frowned as he heard this, but what really made him prick up his ears was the guy's holiday spot: only fifty miles from where the last of the three teenagers had been bitten.

Add to this that Mark was rather sturdy for a computer nerd which made him fit right into the mad werewolf's hunting profile and Vera might have a point there.

Anyway, it was definitely worth checking out, so he went over to Mark's address and carefully sniffed the surroundings. 'Looks like the parents aren't home…and he's living in the basement, much like Merton did' Tommy thought to himself and took a look through the basement window.

What he saw was pretty much self-explanatory: Mark was just in the act of chaining himself up, with trembling fingers and looking ghostly pale. On a nearby table he could make out several books about werewolves, including Merton's.

Tommy sighed, 'Seems as if Vera's hunch was correct' and went to knock at the basement door.

It took a few minutes of heavy pounding until Mark finally opened the door. "C-coach Dawkins? What are you doing here…did Vera send you? I told her I needed this evening off…"

"Well, Vera did send me, in a way, but this is not about work. She noticed your odd behaviour these last few weeks and suspected you might have a problem I could help you with…."

A desperate, humourless laugh interrupted him, followed by a quietly mumbled "No one can help me…"

"You're not alone in this; I know what you're going through."

Mark gave a disbelieving snort "Oh yeah! I bet you do!" The words were probably meant to sound sarcastic, but came out more as a sob.

"Yeah. I bet you're just as scared shitless as I was on my first full moon after that reallybig _dog _had bitten me."

Marks eyes went wide at the implications and Tommy upped the ante, gesturing at the stack of books on the table "Where do you think my best friend got all the inside information about werewolves?"

By now the poor guy was gaping at him as if he was sporting at least two additional heads and Tommy used the chance to gently push him aside and enter, unwilling to risk someone accidentally listening in on what they where about to discuss.

He was about to give Mark the 'werewolf 101'-lecture when a look at his watch stopped him short and made him curse under his breath. Only three minutes until moonrise, and less than five till midnight.

"Look, I know you're afraid, and have about a million questions, but right now we don't have the time for this. There's something we need to do before midnight, or you'll end up just as feral as the bastard who bit you.

But with my help you'll stay sane, with your human side in control; there's even a way to reverse the infection if you want….I promise I'll explain everything later, but right now you'll just have to trust me." Tommy pleaded, hoping he would understand – if not, he would have to take more drastic measures. He couldn't risk having a feral so close to his kids.

One could clearly see how torn up Mark was, inside his mind his fear battled with what he knew about Tommy Dawkins. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, but what stuck out was 'or you'll end up being like the one who bit you'. No way did he want to become like that brutal lunatic.

"What do I have to do?"

"Just lay down, close your eyes and I'll do the rest." Mark gulped nervously but complied.

"W-will it hurt? Like, badly?"

"No. In fact, most of those I did this to didn't even notice it had happened until I told them."

Meanwhile Tommy had stripped down completely and was ready to transform at a moments notice. He could feel the moon rise, the increasing of power in his core and welcomed it while Mark whimpered in fear as his fingernails grew into claws and fur sprouted all over his body.

"Relax, this is nothing to be afraid of…." soothed Tommy, and quickly transformed into his wolf form to give him his submission-mark before the fledgling in front of him could panic.

All Mark felt was a brush of fur against his throat, followed by something wet. Slightly irritated he opened his eyes and all but yelled in fear when he came face to face with a huge wolf. He began to scramble away only to stop short when the animal morphed into Tommy.

The alpha sighed "Sorry to scare you, but it was necessary. I'll explain everything when we're at the mansion, you can also meet the others there – and get the cure, if you want."

Mark, still a bit dazed, nodded "Ok…and maybe then someone can tell me who this Dunleavy fellow was and why this crazy dude thinks that biting me would help getting revenge for him."

Hearing this Tommy froze, right in the middle of buttoning up his shirt. His mind was racing as he remembered the very werewolf who had bitten him all those years ago – and left him alone for several months before coming back to check on him.

At first he'd been glad, seeking guidance of the elder, but once the guy had shown his true colours and tried to eat Merton he'd fought him and kicked him out of town….but before that, while they were still getting along, he'd shown Tommy some pictures of a few other werewolves whom he called 'his boys'.

Now, in hindsight, he realised that Dunleavy must have been doing _exactly_ what their actual thread was doing: biting strong young men to build a pack of ferals. But after Tommy had defeated him he'd lost his rank as alpha - and with that the ability to bite and turn more people which spelled the end for his plan.

However it seemed one of his former disciples had managed to become an alpha; was determined to follow in Dunleavy's footsteps and continue where he had failed…. and to seek revenge for his father figure.

'There goes our hope that the bastard doesn't know about me and my pack! Hopefully he's at least unaware of how large our pack is…anyway, I better contact Callisto first thing tomorrow, looks as if I might need to take her up on her offer to send reinforcements.'

While Mark slept well that night after Steven had given him a sleeping pill; Tommy, Merton and the rest of his pack had everything but a good night's rest.

Not knowing how large the rivalling pack of ferals might be or what they were up to the Pleasantville pack prepared for the worst.

Silver, Sparky and every werewolf but Tommy and Shao patrolled the forest around their house while Merton bundled Vera out of bed.

In a cloak-and-dagger operation the two began to rig up dozens of motion detectors, enough to secure the perimeter of their territory. They would give alarm as soon as something bigger than a rabbit passed them by and send a picture of the trespasser to a security monitor at the mansion, so they would be able to see if it was a foreign werewolf or just a deer that had set them off.

Shao and Lori packed up the barest necessities for the kids, ready to flee with the four little ones to their satellite pack at the first sign of trouble.

Meanwhile Tommy had warned Sam and Luke and spent the rest of the night pacing and racking his brains, trying to remember every little detail of what Dunleavy had told him about the others while straining his ears for howls of his pack members that would indicate a problem.

Around dawn they were all exhausted, both physically and mentally, but the detectors were installed and online.

Dean took over first watch in front of the monitor so the rest could catch a few hours of sleep, he'd spend the last night faking a report about a sighting of a band of young men wanted by the police for serial robbing which would make sure that the local authorities of Pleasantville and its surrounding towns kept their eyes peeled as well.

The others went to bed after a quick breakfast, except for Tommy and Merton who wanted to inform Callisto about the latest developments first. The alpha and his mate were waiting anxiously in front of Merton's computer, watching the little icon that would light up as soon as she was online.

"Hey guys…"

"Finally!" Tommy didn't bother with necessities; he cut off Cal's greeting and came straight to the point.

The longer he talked the paler the princess grew. "So basically we're dealing with someone who has been a werewolf longer then you, who is an alpha since heaven knows how long and could have already bitten dozens of people?" She was clearly shocked, clutching onto her mate for support.

"Yes."

"No wonder you're so worried…"

"Maybe one of those victims they'd already found could know more?"

Tommy blinked at Jamie's soft question. "It's worth a try, maybe now, that they're not so scared anymore they'll remember a few more details…heck, every little thing could be helpful. We need to know how long the guy has been biting people to have at least a rough estimate of how many opponents we'll have to expect."

The princess nodded "As a last resort, you can still flee to our island – with the tunnel being the only way in it's really easy to defend, come fire or high water."

Merton smiled grateful at her offer "Thanks, but let's hope it won't get so far…by the way, why were you online so early today? Don't tell me there's even more trouble lurking…"

"Thankfully, no… I wanted to talk with you about that girl you found a while back, I remember you mentioned something about her name, that it meant something like bloom… because one of our young wolves had a Lycanamora-vision about a 'born flower' last November."

"You mean Sakura? Well, her name translates into 'cherry blossom' but she hasn't got her vision yet…anyway, we can talk about that later, right now we've got more important stuff to worry about."

They continued to discuss worst-case-scenarios and emergency measures, even the possibility of a complete evacuation of Tommy's pack to Lycantria, but also how many werewolves Callisto would be able to send them as back up and how to get them to Pleasantville as fast as possible.

The princess agreed to keep her side of the link open 24/7 so that they would be able to alert her the moment something happened and Tommy promised to keep her up to date.

By the time he ended their connection the alpha was swaying on his feed from sheer exhaustion, and Merton wasn't faring much better now that the adrenalin from the initial shock was wearing of.

"Damn, its high time we get some sleep as well…we'll be of no use for anyone if we collapse" stated Merton as he dragged his mate to bed.

"I know; it's just…I hate having to wait and see, not knowing what lies ahead…" he sighed frustrated, but lay down nonetheless. Snuggled up to his beloved, he finally managed to relax and fall asleep.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

Meanwhile Lycantria was setting its own preparations in motion; the guards at the tunnel entrance were immediately tripled, crouching behind hastily erected barricades, and everything that could be used as a weapon, even the larger kitchen knives, was sharpened and got fresh silver coating.

For the first time in centuries, the werewolf kingdom prepared for war.

Will there be a big fight between the rogues and Tommy's pack? If so, will Lycantria's reinforcements get there in time to help? And what do Nepomuk and his ultra-conservative buddies' think of the possibility of a mating between Sakura and one of Lycantria's young wolves? All that and more in my next chapter! But first, review please!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Same old….

Note: Yeah, I know, this chapter is so long overdue it's not even funny anymore.

The thing is, my mom's health has been deteriorating so fast these last months it's starting to scare me. And its not just physical anymore either….bottom line is, I have so many other things to worry about right now, it's hard to concentrate on my story.

Though I hope it doesn't show in my writing….and now, enough about me, enjoy the chapter!

21. Chapter

The situation remained tense for several weeks, with no new helpful information whatsoever.

Merton tried his best and searched online for newspaper articles about attacks from wild dogs or unusual wolf-sightings, looked into emergency room-records of people admitted with large bite wounds, but found nothing that stood out.

Asking the three boys they'd found got them nothing as well, the one living with their satellite pack could tell them nothing new and so far they hadn't even reach the other two.

Oh well, at least the upcoming Fourth of July meant Tommy didn't had to worry about work for a few days, he really needed the long weekend with how stressed out he was getting.

And he wasn't the only one; the stalemate was wreaking havoc on everyone's nerves, even the kids noticed that something was up and cried far more than usual.

At three o'clock in the morning on 6. July the nighttime peace was shattered by the telephone bell.

Tommy, who was on duty in front of the surveillance monitor startled and hurried to answer before the noise would wake everyone.

It took him a few moments to make enough sense of the frantic babbling on the other end of the line to recognise the caller. It was Tony, one of the two bitten ones they hadn't reached so far, and apparently something had scared the living daylights out of the poor boy.

"You've got to calm down, I can't understand a word you're saying….and now, start from the beginning."

The teen took a deep breath and started again, and the longer he talked the more Tommy understood why he was so freaked out. Apparently Tony and his parents had used the long weekend to spend a few days by the sea, and had run into the mad wolf in the progress.

Needless to say the bastard was everything but pleased to discover that one of his beta-to-be had managed to contact Tommy and received the cure. It was only due to the throng of tourists nearby that he didn't attack the boy and his parents in his fury.

But as he stormed off the seething werewolf had been growling threats under his breath, and now Tony wanted to warn them about what he'd overheard.

"He said something along the lines of making sure you can't 'steal' more of his betas from him, that he's going to 'get rid of that pest once and for all'….and something about 'why did it had to be my first', whatever _that _means" The boy rambled on for a while, anxious to know if Tommy would take care of the bastard so that his family wouldn't be in danger anymore.

"Don't worry, the moment he comes here he's toast – though it's a good idea if you and your parents stay with some friends until then, just to be on the save side. I'll call you the moment the coast is clear again." They exchanged a few more pleasantries, mostly to calm the frantic boy, and then Tommy hung up.

Following a sudden inspiration he checked Merton's notes.

Out of those three they had found Tony had been bitten first; and the attack on him had seemed less planned then the others, downright clumsy by comparison. As if their madcap had been still inexperienced…'because Tony was your first, the first you've bitten!' He quickly did the math in his head; Tony had been bitten last summer, which meant their feral had become an alpha only about a year ago.

Tommy took a deep breath for the first time in what felt like ages, knowing that this bit of information changed just about everything.

Granted, they still didn't know how many poor souls the bastard had bitten, but none of them were fully transformed yet, meaning they were nowhere near at full strength nor under the complete control of the madcap….and all could still be cured.

Ok, so Tony's information also indicated that the bastard wanted to attack them sooner rather than later now that he knew that Tommy was trying to find and cure his beta-to-be, but that was alright with the alpha.

He was sick and tired of waiting; they were as prepared as they could be and probably, if not certainly, way stronger than their opponent thought.

Against his first impulse Tommy decided not to rouse his pack immediately, given from where Tony had called the feral would at least need another day to reach them, quite possibly more, and they would need all the sleep they could get before the upcoming confrontation.

However he did choose to share the good news with Callisto right away.

Despite the late hour it took mere minutes for the princess to appear before the screen, this along with the bags and dark rings under her eyes confirmed his suspicions: she too had been unable to have a good night's rest since this whole mess had started.

Seeing her worried expression he hurried to reassure his friend. "Calm down, Cal, I've got good news…"

Tommy proceeded to tell her what he'd learned from Tony. Her face lit up more and more the longer he talked, though he had to explain why the feral's betas didn't had their full strength yet, since it had been several centuries that anyone from Lycantria had bitten and turned a human they'd all but forgotten the finer details of the transformation of a human into a werewolf.

The princess blinked "Hu, who would have thought….all I was ever taught about the matter was: 'should you one day accidentally bite a human, you've either got to feed them wolf's bane before the next full moon or kill them'. And you really think they won't interfere?"

Tommy shook his head "His beta's are more likely to root for me to get rid of the bastard who turned them against their will – it was just the same back when Ariel turned Sam and Luke, they secretly did their best to hinder him.

Since their inner wolves are quasi still pups the human side can still easily overrule the instinct to follow their alpha's order if they truly want to – Rock and the others merely followed me from the beginning on because they liked me and had no reason to rebel."

A few hours later, after everyone had woken up, Tommy told them the good news which turned their breakfast into a spontaneous mini-celebration – even though it meant that they had to double their attention now that they knew the feral was on his way to Pleasantville.

Oh well, be that as it may, right now all Tommy needed was sleep. He was completely bushed after a long night in front of their surveillance monitor and calming both Tony and Callisto down, yet too wired to fall asleep what with everything that was on his mind.

As if to answer his silent prayers Merton entered their bedroom, stating "The kids are playing outside with Sparky and his pups, Shao is watching them."

He sat down on their bed so that his back was resting against the headboard, pulled Tommy's head into his lap and started to pet him.

"I thought you said you wanted to work on your next book" mumbled the werewolf, already relaxing under the soothing caress.

"I do, but you know I can easily type one-handed…" Merton trailed of as he noticed that his beloved was asleep by now.

He quietly chuckled to himself before he opened his laptop, easily balancing it on his other thigh just like he'd done back when Tommy had been pregnant. As he started to type with one hand, the fingers of his other hand never stopped carding through his mate's hair.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

After all the trouble he had caused them, the final confrontation with the bastard was so short it was downright anticlimactic.

The idiot had been so full of himself, apparently he had wanted to sniff and snoop around a bit before attacking with his betas when he set off their motion detectors.

Taking no risks, Tommy sent Sparky ahead as a distraction. The feral barely acknowledged the cute puppy before dismissing it as no threat, only to whirl around slack jawed when he suddenly sensed another alpha behind him.

"How did you…? I came against the wind!"

"I don't need to smell you to know that you're here…I see you already met my watchdog?"

The fool snorted amused "Yeah, he looks _really_ dangerous!"

However, his amusement quickly turned into horror as the 'cute puppy' was engulfed in a whirlwind of flames and grew to nearly thrice its former size, was now sporting impressive, very sharp looking teeth and… "Oh god! The eyes! What is this thing?"

"I told you, he's my watchdog. Now, I think you came here for a fight?"

By now, the feral was so terrified by Sparky's demonically glowing eyes he couldn't form a coherent answer anymore. Mentally shaking his head, Tommy pounced and pinned him to the forest floor, teeth barred and claws digging into the others wrists.

"Do you yield or do I have to kill you?"

His sole answer was frightened whimpering before the other actually wet himself. Disgusted, he let go of the idiot, who instantly curled up in a fetal position, and ordered Sparky to keep an eye on this picture of misery.

Following his nose Tommy quickly found the makeshift camp of the feral.

About half a dozen frightened teens clustered around a small fire, and from the sounds of it at least two more were sleeping inside the minibus which apparently had been their mode of transportation to come here.

He was appalled, there were no tents and no provisions either; heck most of them hadn't even a jacket against the cool evening air.

Tommy approached the group slowly as to not scare them further, though it was of little help.

The one who spotted him startled violently and actually screamed in fear, while all the others hurried to get to other side of the fire, as if the flames between them would ward him off.

He sighed "Look, I know you've been through a lot, but I really mean you no harm, ok? The one who hurt you is taken care of and will never bother you again…."

At this point he was interrupted by the sound of the backdoor of the minibus opening. A teenage girl was looking at him, scared but also defiant, it was clear she was trying to protect something…or rather someone.

Behind her, sitting on an old mattress and clutching onto each other for dear life were two young boys, 12 at most.

"Holy shit, those are still children! That's…" His genuine shock must have been obvious and did wonders to relax the others. "Ok, look; just come with me, ok? Then you can call your worried parents, get a warm meal, a shower and a bed, and tomorrow we'll talk about how to fix this mess. For now, rest assured that there is a way to cure you. None of you have to stay a werewolf if you don't want to."

The last statement earned him sighs of relief, and, after quickly putting out the fire, they all followed him without further ado.

For the next couple of hours the teens took turns showering and calling their respective parents, telling them various made-up stories about their whereabouts. Shao meanwhile prepared a huge pot of stew, brimming with meat and noodles to feed their hungry guests.

Steven briefly examined the youngsters, but they were all in good shape save for a few scratches and mild signs of shock – except the two youngest who were underfed and had quite a few ugly bruises and welts, but those were already several days old.

Tommy frowned as he heard this, he could clearly smell that they had been bitten only recently, together with the fact that they made no move at all to call their parents and adamantly refused to give them their last name this added up to a picture he didn't like.

He quietly asked the girl who had tried to protect them and got to know that they were brothers, 9 and 11 years old and had only been bitten because they'd been in the old barn the feral had picked as their quarter for the night.

This had been two days ago, and going by the fact that they'd each been carrying a satchel with clothes, food and blankets it was save to say they'd been running from home. And given the nightmares she'd witnessed, they had every reason to do so.

Tommy sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day 'looks as if Mary might be getting more kids soon'. Oh well, he'd talk to the two boys tomorrow, for now he had to inform Cal, and make arrangements for the bastard that was currently lying chained up in their basement.

After they'd stuffed themselves the teens stumbled to their assigned sleeping quarters, dead on their feet after the stress of the past days.

The girl, Laura, crashed with Sakura, while the two tallest guys shared their other guest bed, which left the sleeping couches for the remaining 4.

The two boys ended up on Tommy's and Merton's couch, both because it was the largest and comfiest and so that they'd hear it if the little ones suffered from nightmares again.

They were indeed woken during the night from their bad dreams, several times actually, and from what Tommy and Merton gathered from their screaming and pleading in their sleep they were determined not to let the boys so-called parents anywhere near them again, ever.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

Early the next morning, the ever-chipper Gil came and fetched the defeated ex-alpha. Tommy smiled as he watched them drive off, knowing the everything-but-evil-nowadays werewolf-syndicate was the best place for the former feral.

He'd been a werewolf for too long to be cured, needed a place to stay, and someone to help him finding his way in life again. At the syndicate, he would learn to do good to repent for his former misdeeds, as Tommy had ordered him to. Even Callisto agreed, going against her royal aide who had voiced protest and wanted to see him executed.

Speaking of the princess, now that the danger was over she planned to visit them, eager to finally meet Steven's daughter and to show them her son, Ganymede (and boy was Tommy glad that he hadn't been born in Lycantria and ended up with a name like this!)

But first, the Pleasantville pack had to deal with the load of involuntary turned werewolves.

After breakfast the next morning Tommy had a serious talk with each of the seven teens about whether they wanted to stay infected or not.

The six males all stated that they wished nothing but to go back to their old lives, just like Vera's assistant they only wanted to forget that this had ever happened to them. So they, like Mark, received an injection with werewolf-antibodies – after swearing not to breathe a word of them or the existence of werewolves in general.

"Also, please give us a call should you come across something suspicious again."

"You mean…?"

Tommy shrugged and told his rapidly paling audience "You'd be surprised how many other 'monsters' are out there. We like to take care of them before too many innocents get involved." The boys nodded and he took them to the train station.

The only one who seemed to be interested in more than getting away was Laura.

She listened closely to what Tommy explained and asked many questions. He answered them all, though he got a bad feeling when she asked things like how many females he had in his 'harem' or how he was treating 'his women'. As it turned out, the feral had planned to force the tall and athletic girl to become his 'breeding bitch'.

Tommy was aghast and hurried to explain the concept of life-mates to her, and to assure her that his two kids weren't the result of him keeping a harem somewhere but that he actually had been the one giving birth to them.

Needless to say, _that_ piece of information made her jaw hit the floor, though she was able to recognise the faint silvery stretch marks on the skin of his belly from her cousin's pregnancy.

"I need some time to think this over."

"Take as much as you need. The cure works for nearly two years after you've been bitten, so you've got plenty of time to decide. I only ask that you'll submit to me on the next full moon, you know, so that you'll be unable to infect others, if only by accident."

The girl nodded, knowing from his previous explanations what he meant and agreeing with the wisdom of such precautions.

Meanwhile Merton was talking to Robby and Toby, the two brothers, who were playing with the hellhound puppies.

The still scared boys thawed a bit and started to talk, be it because of the cute pups, the cookies Mert had brought or simply because the Goth looked so non-threatening that even preteens didn't fear him.

Looking for a way to steer the conversation from trivial stuff to the important matters Merton noted how the boys seemed to favour two pups in particular. "Their names are Ash and Cloud, a boy and a girl…they'll be moving to live with good friends of us soon.

They live on an old farm, with a few hens and a cow, and lots of space for those two to run around…there would be a place for you too, if you want."

Robby, the older, looked stunned but Toby only asked "Do they have a horsey, too?"

"Uh yeah, I think so."

Toby squealed in delight, while Robby asked dead serious, but with a slight tremble in his voice "You won't send us back to…?" He couldn't even bring himself to say the names of his tormentors out loud, but Merton understood him nonetheless.

"No, you don't have to go back to them, just like you don't have to become werewolves if you don't want to…_but_ you'd have to go to school – well, sorta, Mary is a teacher herself and would educate you at home, together with Stuart, another boy living with her.

She also got some kids of her own, so you'd have both a big brother and become big brothers to a bunch of toddlers." The two looked thoughtful, even young Toby seemed to understand the seriousness of the question now.

"You don't have to decide right away. Mary and Stu are coming over in a few days to fetch Ash and Cloud. Then you can meet her and see if you get along…and if not, we'll find another solution.

But come what may, you don't have to go back to your parents ever again, I promise." At this, both boys launched themselves into his arms, trembling and crying with the sheer relief that their nightmare was over.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

During the next days Laura had long talks with all pack members, especially the girls and Merton. When Callisto and Jamie arrived with their son and Sakura's potential mate-to-be she watched interestedly how those two got to know each other.

Seeing the shy young man make the first tentative moves to court his intended confirmed everything the others had told her. Werewolves weren't rapists but romantics at heart, the idiot who'd turned her had merely been a bad apple with his crazy fantasies of a harem of breeding bitches.

By now, Laura was nearly certain that she wanted to stay a werewolf, but was still unsure if becoming a part of the pack would screw up her plans for life. She'd just graduated from high school and had been dreaming of going to college and become a doctor for years.

After fretting quite a bit she realised that there was no better way to find out then to grab the bull by the horns, thus she gathered her courage and went to Tommy to ask him.

He listened carefully to the girl's concerns and answered "What you do with your life is up to you, I'd never tell you what job to choose, if anything I'd try to help you to live your dreams.

However, if you choose to stay a werewolf, you'll need to live in an area with woods were you can go on full moons; this, and your sharpening senses, makes living in a big city near impossible. Also, you'll need to stay near enough to either Pleasantville or Mary's place so we can guide you through the changes."

The girl frowned as she considered this new information, but before she could ask further questions he continued "Of course, you could just stay here – Pleasantville has a small, but good college. You can ask Steven, he made his degree there, and his residency at the hospital over in Muhlenburg….plus you'd save the money for the dorm room.

We'd planned to furnish the rest of our guest rooms anyway, so it would be no problem to adapt one to fit your needs." Laura was beyond floored at the generous offer, but as his words sunk in fully she started to beam and hugged the stuffing out of Tommy.

The alpha was glad to see the girl so happy; though he also had a tiny ulterior motive - his satellite pack needed a doctor too after all. So far, whenever Mary was due Steven had to make the long journey and wait for days until she went into labour so he could assist at the birth.

After the still smiling girl had gone inside to grill Steven for details about the medicine faculty of the Pleasantville College, Tommy continued to look outside into the garden. He was watching Sakura and Sean, her potential mate, as they sat underneath the weeping willow.

Even from the distance he could make out that they were sitting rather closely so he wasn't surprised to see the boy lean in and give her a short kiss, which she obviously returned. The alpha smiled to himself, those two were clearly on a very good way, by now he was all but convinced that Sakura's own vision this upcoming November was but a mere formality.

Of course, this raised the question of where the couple would live, here in Pleasantville or in Lycantria.

He'd already talked with Callisto about it and made it clear that, as far as he was concerned, it was solely up to those two to decide where they wanted to live.

The princess agreed, and for once even her royal aide did, they even suggested making this rule a new law, for future matings between their packs.

Both Tommy and Callisto were pleasantly surprised, taking this as a sign that they were finally beginning to accept the Pleasantville-pack as a friend, and even more important, as an equal of the werewolf kingdom.

- - + - + - + - **T & M** - + - + - + -

Meanwhile in Lycantria, the ultra-conservatives were making full use of the absence of the royal couple by having a conspirative meeting.

The recent developments had troubled them deeply, though unlike the princess they hadn't only been terrified by the reality of a feral pack out there but also by how quickly and efficient the Pleasantville-pack had been prepared for an attack.

Those few among them who were still part of Callisto's aide brought the others up to date. The latest news caused quite a few growls, granted, the madcap was taken care of, but…

"That blasted Pleasantville alpha gained four more betas! Four! And he refused to execute the feral!"

"Maybe he's getting weak…"

"No, he's not" declared Nepomuk, and all the others fell silent.

"Don't make the same mistake I did, my brothers, don't underestimate him. He may appear weak and careless at times, but that's all just a ruse…remember how he killed Ariel, my strong, but misguided apprentice…and what he did to me! No, he isn't weak, he's dangerous!"

Consenting murmurs arose and one yelled "Nepomuk is right! Why else would a foreign alpha help us to get _our _territory in shape, with better seeds and solar panels and whatnot…our ancestors could very well do without all this newfangled things!

No, he wants to take over; it's as plain as the hairs on my paw!"

"That's got to be the reason he kept that feral alive, he has use for one more fighter…or, possibly, one more stud. Didn't you say that his betas breed like rabbits?"

Nepomuk nodded "Sadly, yes, our only hope is that there'll be many more homosexual matings or they'll be numerous enough to overrun us within a few generations" he sighed, deeply troubled.

"There may be another way to weaken them" grinned one of the aides. "As I´m sure you've heard, there seems to be a possible mating pair between them and us…"

Unhappy growls arose, and one grumbled "How the hell is that supposed to be _good _ news?"

"Well, for one, the girl in question isn't another bitten trash, but a _born _ werewolf…"

"Curse him for finding her!"

"All born werewolves belong to Lycantria!"

"Would you please let me finish? As I was saying, one of our own had a vision of this werewolf girl which sadly is still a part of the pack of that bitten menace, _but _apparently our princess for once managed to pull _him_ over the barrel….by making him agree to it that the future couple can live were _they_ want."

The aide grinned smugly at his stunned friends "Of course we agreed right away and used the golden opportunity to make this a binding law – now all we have to do is butter the little girl up when she comes to visit and she'll be ours!"

Large smiles broke out on the faces all around, even Nepomuk's perpetual scowl softened "Oh yes, we'll be giving her the warmest welcome ever! Just like all the other mates that'll come after her too!"

He bared his teeth in his twisted version of a grin as he pictured it in his mind; the strongest offspring of those bitten ones would mate into Lycantria, infusing them with new blood, just like back in the good old days when they still used to turn the occasional human to have breeding bitches for those males who couldn't find their mate.

They would get stronger, while their enemy would get weakened, until one day….he barely managed to contain his glee and sober up enough to speak again.

"These are indeed good news, but don't crow too soon, we need to continue to lay low and keep our heads down. Remember that right now Lycantria is basically without a ruler, with only a _female_ on the throne" here he snorted disgusted, and he wasn't the only one.

As if hadn't been bad enough that their former queen had died before she could give birth to a real heir, no their princess also had to mate a weakling who couldn't even rule over her let alone the kingdom.

If he just thought about how Jamie honestly had allowed Callisto to decide when they had young instead of just impregnating her the moment they were mated his blood started to boil.

What kind of male asked his bitch for permission?

He sighed and continued "Our only hope is Ganymede, we need to make sure that he learns all about the evilness of bitten ones and the threat this twisted parody of a pack in Pleasantville poses to us.

Though that will be a feat of its own, given that we have to do so behind Callisto's back, but in the end it will be worth it. Once he comes of age he'll take over the throne, and by that time this cursed alpha will already be past his prime so Ganymede should have no problem to finally put an end to him."

Nepomuk sighed wistfully, pictures of a slain Tommy dancing through his mind, along with fantasies of Rock and the others becoming working slaves and breeding stock for Lycantria.

"I only pray to the moon gods that I'll live long enough to see it."

In the next chapter: After all the trouble is finally over our boys have finally some time for themselves again…in other words, there will be sex ;-)

Also, the previously announced conflict involving Shao will take shape….as will other, unexpected ones. Let's just say some people will finally get what they deserve, be they werewolves or not.

And soon, there will be a huge time jump to when the twins are teens, so if there are some scenes from their childhood you would like to see please tell me!


End file.
